National Gas and Industrialization Company (GASCO) is working on developing a plan to improve sales during the second half of 2019, CEO Abdul Karim bin Hamad Al Najidi told Argaam in an interview.
The company unveiled a number of development initiatives, including restructuring of all administrative segments and launching of a digital transformation program that is likely to show result in the short- to medium-term, he added.
Commenting on the firm’s financial performance, Al Najidi said that GASCO managed to post excellent results during the first half of 2019, driven by stability in sales, which reflects the efficiency of the initiatives and strategic projects that aim to achieve the highest level of efficiency and growth.
He noted that the decline in the second quarter 2019 net profit was due to the implementation of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), which led to increase in operational costs and provisions.
GASCO’s profits in the first half of 2019 grew 67 percent year-on-year (YoY) to SAR 119.6 million compared to SAR 71.2 million. However, the second quarter 2019 profit declined 45 percent to SAR 17.8 million.
GASCO’s investments in associate firms have increased considerably, Al Najidi said, expecting the performance of these investments to improve in the future.
“We continuously work on unlocking new opportunities through joint ventures and joint projects in gas sector,” he asserted.
Currently, the company is working on development of the production lines by adding the stage of cleaning gas cylinders in a move that aims to improve the quality of the product and to achieve customer satisfaction.
The CEO further discussed about a number of projects that are set to increase the operational efficiency of the firm, which includes increasing the Riyadh storage project capacity by 500 percent. The project is one of the key projects in which the firm has invested heavily as it is currently selecting the infrastructure and installation contractor. The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2021.
According to Al Najidi, the project of developing the handling zone is near completion, having reached 85 percent. Work is underway to complete the development of the handling areas at the Qassim and Khamis Mushait stations, which is expected to be completed during first half 2020.
Meanwhile, the CEO said that the development and renovation of the packing lines have helped boost GASCO’s production capacity, as well as meet the growing local demand throughout the year.
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