Romgaz announced a profit of 615 million lei in the first quarter of the year, a period that can be described as the perfect storm caused by the decline in demand, weather conditions and the uncertainty of regulation, to which were added the stocks from previous years and the acceleration of cheap imports.

The total revenue for the first half are lower by 330.8 million lei, registering a decrease of 14.8%. The declines at the level of the indicators of profit faithfully reflect the decline of the turnover, and the rates achieved reporting to them, remain very good, the same as in 2015: net profit (33.3%), EBIT (40.1%), EBITDA ( 54.8%).

In the first half of 2016, Romgaz produced a volume of 2.19 billion cubic meters of natural gas, 580 million cubic meters (20.9%) less than the same period last year, and almost 10% below the programmed level.

The challenges of 2016

• a mild winter that generated a lower gas consumption in the first quarter
  decreased demand for natural gas in key sectors, caused by falling prices internationally (especially in the chemical fertilizers sector – natural gas consumption decreased by 49% compared to 2015) and strong competition in the electricity generation sector;
  decline in demand for gas for the establishment of the minimum stocks of natural gas related to the winter 2016-2017, as a result of an imprecise and inconsistent regulatory framework
  the presence of a stock of gas owned by Romgaz, relatively high in the underground storage at the end of the winter 2015-2016 – 795.8 million cubic meters, of which the Romgaz stock was 723 million cubic meters (92%)
  Increased competition from imports of gas induced a significant decrease in natural gas prices in Europe. Compared to the first semester of 2015, imports increased by 230%, respectively 179 million cubic meters.