ISLAMABAD, Oct 31: Gas curtailment caused by the flagrant violation of the contractual obligations by SNGPL has severely impacted the operations of the fertiliser business, Engro announced here on Wednesday.

Consequently, the business made a net loss of Rs2,978 million during the nine months ending September 30, 2012 against a net profit of Rs3,510 million the same period last year, Engro Corporation said in its financial results.

The loss is directly attributable to decreased sales volume, lower margins, declining farm economics, and absence of speculative buying due to expectation of a reduction in the price. Engro produced 709,000 tons of urea during January-September period compared to 983,000 tons produced in the same period of previous year.

The decrease was attributable to the gas curtailment on the new plant which received gas for only 45 days allowing for only 33 days of production.

On the contrary, the foods business continued its rapid growth trajectory registering a turnover increase of 38 per cent to Rs29 billion during the nine months of 2012 as compared to Rs21 billion in the corresponding period last year.

In addition, Engro’s investment in the Halal Foods business in Canada, Al Safa, also achieved sizable sales revenue of C$8.8 million during the nine months of 2012.

The petrochemicals business saw an increase in domestic PVC sales to 112,000 tons during the nine months of 2012 as compared to 85,000 tons in the corresponding period last year. The business posted a net profit of Rs83 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2012, compared to a loss of Rs440 million during the same period last year.

During the nine months of 2012, the Engro Qadirpur Powergen plant dispatched a total of 1,316GWh to the national grid and demonstrated a billable availability of 100.3 per cent. The business declared a net profit of Rs1,571 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 as compared to a profit of Rs1,239 million during the same period last year.

On the Sindh Engro Coal Mining (SECMC) front, Engro is actively pursuing different parties for possible coal off-take agreements specifically after the change of strategy to decouple the mining and power projects.

The chemical storage and handling business Engro Vopak Terminal had smooth operations during the nine months of 2012 and posted a net profit of Rs1,098 million as compared to a net profit of Rs781 million the same period last year.

The consolidated revenue of Engro stood at Rs83 billion for the nine months of 2012, as compared to Rs79 billion in the same period last year, while net loss after tax was Rs443 million as compared to a net profit after tax of Rs5,590 million in the same period last year.