Petronet LNG Ltd, India's largest importer of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), recorded a historic third-quarter net profit of Rs 1,190.30 crore, driven by increased capacity utilization at its primary Dahej import facility in Gujarat, attributed to a decline in gas prices. In comparison, the company had reported a net profit of Rs 1,175.94 crore in the same quarter last year and Rs 814.91 crore in the previous quarter. The surge in profit is attributed to a higher capacity utilization of the 17.5 million tonnes per year import terminal at Dahej, as stated by Petronet CEO Akshay Kumar Singh during a media call. In the December quarter, the Dahej terminal processed 218 Trillion British Thermal Unit (TBTU) of LNG, marking an increase from 154 TBTU in the corresponding quarter the previous year and 210 TBTU in the July-September period.
This resulted in a capacity utilization rate of 99%, up from 95% in the previous quarter and 70% in the corresponding period last year. The decline in international LNG prices attracted more volumes. Combining with its Kochi terminal, which operates below 15% of its 5 million tonnes per year capacity due to a lack of a pipeline to deliver the fuel to customers, Petronet processed 232 TBTU of LNG in the third quarter, compared to 167 TBTU in the previous year. Singh mentioned that the Dahej terminal is set to expand to a capacity of 22.5 million tonnes by March next year.
Additionally, Petronet is in the process of constructing two extra gas storage tanks, set to improve operational efficiency by June this year. Singh stated that Petronet has resolved issues with customers regarding use or pay charges and has obtained bank guarantees from them. Due to elevated gas prices, buyers did not import the agreed volumes in 2022 and 2023, leading to penalties under the use or pay agreement, totaling Rs 848.92 crore for 2022 and Rs 415.91 crore for 2021. Offtakers have been granted a three-year window from the default date to import the volumes. If they fail to do so within this period, the bank guarantees will be forfeited.
Singh also mentioned that the Coimbatore-Krishnagiri gas pipeline is anticipated to be completed by the end of 2024, and it is expected to boost capacity utilization at Kochi by facilitating gas transportation to users. Despite a decline in revenue from operations to Rs 14,747.21 crore in the third quarter from Rs 15,775.87 crore, primarily due to lower gas prices, Petronet reported a net profit of Rs 2,792.94 crore for the nine months ending December 31 on a revenue of Rs 38,936.16 crore. This compared with a net profit of Rs 2,596.56 crore on a revenue of Rs 46,025.42 crore in the same period last year.