Annual profit of the state-owned listed gas company Titas Gas Company Limited, come down into almost half of its annual revenue within the past five years, despite rising gas prices and an increase in the number of customers.

According to sources, the collapse in Titas Gas revenue is due to the cancellation of the consumer-level minimum charge system as well as massive system loss.

Moreover, the increase in inter-company loans and loans among its own officers / employees has also affected the profitability of Titas Gas.

Titas, a gas distribution company in greater Dhaka and Mymensing, earned a net profit of Tk 886 crore after paying income tax in 2015, which came down to Tk 464 crore in 2019. In 2016, 2017 and  2018, Titas Gas earned net profit of Tk 729, 506 and 338 crore respectively.

In 2018, Titas ‘inter-company loan was Tk 977 crore which increased to Tk 1118 crore in 2019 and at the same time Titas’ officer / employee loan also increased to around Tk 75 crore.

A top level official of the Titas told Business Mirror preferring anonymity that the significant fall of earnings had been caused due to the withdrawal of minimum charge at consumer level

Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Limited’s earnings per share (EPS) has fallen by 33% in the third quarter (January-March) of FY20 compared to the same period of previous year.

According to an official disclosure, posted by the companies concerned on Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) website, Titas Gas’s EPS was Tk0.49 for January-March’20 as against Tk0.73 for January-March’19. As a result, the company’s EPS declined by Tk0.24 or 33%.

The Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) has increased gas prices which came into effect on July 1, 2019. It has also upward revised the distribution charge of Titas Gas to Tk0.25 per cubic metre from Tk0.22.

The minimum charge rule against customers’ gas bill was dropped off and a new demand charge was introduced which impacted the revenue of the company adversely.

On the other hand, the gas supply company’s EPS was Tk2.21 for nine months (July’19-March’20) as against Tk2.87 for the same period last year. Its net asset value (NAV) per share was Tk69.76 on March 31, 2020.

Titas was listed on the Dhaka Stock Exchange in 2008. The power sector company belongs to “A” category.

The company’s paid-up capital is Tk989 crore. A share of the company closed at Tk 33 on Monday.