Gas Gong, 24% Decrease in Cumulative Operating Profit for Q3... "Due to Supply Below Cost"

Korea Gas Corporation's cumulative operating profit for the third quarter sharply declined by 24% compared to the same period last year. Accounts receivable exceeded 12.5 trillion won.

On the 13th, Gas Corporation announced that its cumulative operating profit for the third quarter recorded 1.0238 trillion won, a decrease of 321.6 billion won (-24%) from the previous year (1.3454 trillion won).

A Gas Corporation official explained, "The decrease in operating profit is mainly due to the settlement and reflection of revenues generated in past years and the expansion of gas fee support for vulnerable groups," adding, "Liquefied natural gas (LNG) raw material costs are supplied at cost without any profit, and raw material costs temporarily recorded as revenue during the 2022 settlement process were deducted from the 2023 operating profit (291.7 billion won)."

Additionally, Gas Corporation stated that according to government policies to expand support for vulnerable groups during the winter season (December to March), the urban gas fee support amount increased sixfold from 96,000 won to 592,000 won, resulting in a temporary operating profit decrease (202.2 billion won) for the Gas Corporation.

The cumulative sales for the third quarter recorded 33.9468 trillion won, an increase of 380.1 billion won compared to the previous year. Although sales volume decreased by 8.6% to 25.2 million tons compared to the previous year, Gas Corporation explained that the sales unit price rose by 2.36 won per megajoule (MJ) due to increases in oil prices and exchange rates.

The accounts receivable for urban gas residential use in the third quarter reached 12.5202 trillion won, increasing by 276.7 billion won compared to the end of the first half. The balance of accounts receivable for urban gas residential use at Gas Corporation was 8.5856 trillion won at the end of 2022.

The Gas Corporation said, "Although operating profit decreased this year due to overlapping factors such as expanded support for vulnerable groups and one-time costs, we expect performance improvement from next year as we are steadily implementing the mid- to long-term financial management plan."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.