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396266
Sun, 02/07/2016 - 21:24
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Mesaieed Announces Profits of QR1.1 Billion

Doha, February 07 (QNA) - Mesaieed Petrochemical Holding Company announced Sunday that its profit for the year ending December 31, 2015 was QR1.1 Billion. The result is a decline of QR707 million or down 39% compared to the profits of 2014. The board of directors agreed a dividend of QR0.7, which is equivalent to 80% of the company's profits. The company released a statement to the press today and said that the decline was mainly due to maintenance operations which affected productivity. The decline in oil prices also had an impact on the company's performance. Fourth quarter earnings of QR 300.8 million were down by 21.5% over the third quarter of 2015. The preventive maintenance and warranty shutdowns are an essential requirement for large, industrial plants as they can help minimize unplanned disruption, ensure product quality is maintained and ultimately, contribute to an extension of plants production life. The quarter-on-quarter decrease was due to decrease in selling prices and sales volumes. The groups profit was also aided by recognition of a tax refund of QR 100.1 million for the year. The group continued to benefit from the supply of competitively priced ethane feedstock and fuel gas under long-term supply agreements. This contracting arrangement is an important value driver for the group profitability in a challenging market condition. The company added in its statement that its liquidity position remained strong during the year on buoyant cash realization ratios across all group companies, with cash held by the company after distribution of previous years dividend of QR 1.3 billion, was at QR 926 million. The total assets at December 31, 2015 was QR 14.3 billion, compared to the 31 December 2014 total assets of QR 14.6 billion. Due to the unfavorable conditions experienced during the year, the group closed the year with 9.6% less than the budgeted profit. As a result, the Board of Directors aim to maximize the percentage of net profit paid as a cash dividend while maintaining adequate liquidity for the groups capital investments, working capital and financing needs, and the principles of financial prudence. However they ensured that the dividend payouts does not impact working capital, debt repayment and capital expenditure. (END)

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