DOHA: The Board of Directors of Woqod, held its third meeting for the year 2019, yesterday. The meeting was presided over by Ahmed Saif Al Sulaiti, Chairman of the Board. The Board discussed and approved the unaudited financial statements and the operational activities results of the Company during the first quarter of 2019 ending March 31, 2019.
Saad Rashid Al Muhannadi, Chief Executive Officer, Woqod announced that the net profit of the company attributable to the shareholders at the end of the first quarter of 2019 amounted to QR327m, compared to QR301m for the same period in 2018, with an increase of QR26m representing 9 percent increase rate. The increase in profits is attributable to the efforts exerted to enhance efficiency in the business activities and operations of the company, as well as the concomitant efforts to reduce expenses.
He added that the operational expenses were reduced by 8 percent during the first quarter of 2019 compared to the corresponding period in 2018.
With regard to earning per share, Al Muhannadi said that it had reached QR3.29 by the end of first quarter 2019 compared to QR3.03 for the first quarter of 2018.
Concerning the company’s projects, Al Muhannadi explained that the Woqod plan for 2019 aims to build and operate 30 more petrol stations, and therefore the number of stations by the end of this year will be 114 stations, and by then Woqod will be more than doubling the number of its operating, which were 52 stations in 2017, in two years only. He added further that Woqod plans to build another 50 petrol stations during the period from 2020 to 2023, and thus number of the stations owned by the company will be about 164 stations.
With regard to the company’s operations, Al Muhannadi explained that the company achieved 3 percent growth in total fuel sales, where sales of Jet A1 which increased by 9 percent, Bitumen by 17 percent, LPG by 4 percent, Natural Gas by 62 percent and Heavy Fuel Oil by 44 percent. The retail sales of petroleum products increased by 30 percent while non-oil retail sales, including Sidra stores sales, grew by 13 percent.
Al Muhannadi stated that the management of the company and its Board of Directors will exert every effort to support building a robust and sustainable downstream Oil and Gas distribution sector within the State of Qatar through the utilization and implementation of latest international standards.
Source from: The Peninsula