Gas Natural 4Q Net Profit Rises on Prices, Demand and Divestments -- Update

(Adds information on divestments and efficiency plan.)

 
   By Marc Bisbal Arias

Gas Natural SDG SA (GAS.MC) said Wednesday that its fourth-quarter net profit rose more than 35% on year, helped by divestments as well as higher prices and demand.

Net profit was 567 million euros ($701.7 million) compared with EUR417 million in the year-earlier period. Net sales rose to EUR7.28 billion from EUR7.19 billion in the same period last year.

Divestments had a positive impact on after-tax profit. Gas Natural reached an agreement for the sale of a 59.1% stake in Gas Natural SA ESP (GASNATURA.BO), a Colombian company that distributes and supplies natural gas, for EUR468 million. The impact on after-tax profit was EUR350 million.

Gas Natural said it supplied slightly less electricity in the fourth quarter, but full-year figures were in line with last year's. Higher electricity demand in mainland Spain increased in the fourth quarter, as did the average price in the daily power-generation market.

The Spanish company said it will pay a supplementary cash dividend of EUR0.67 a share in June, following the interim cash dividend of EUR0.33 a share it paid in September. Gas Natural said that, in line with its policy, it would allocate EUR1 billion of its 2017 income to dividends.

Gas Natural also said it has started a new efficiency plan for 2018-2020.

Write to Marc Bisbal Arias at marc.bisbalarias@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 07, 2018 04:13 ET (09:13 GMT)

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