TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, March 25. The net profit of Uzbekneftegaz, a state-owned holding company in Uzbekistan's oil and gas industry, has dropped by more than half by the end of 2023, Trend reports.
Uzbekneftegaz's net profit amounted to 611.6 billion soums ($48.6 million) last year, which is 53 percent less year-on-year. At the same time, the profit of the state-owned company has decreased five times in the last three to four years.
The assets of the oil and gas company reached almost 90 trillion soums ($7.1 billion) in 2023, up 13.1 percent year-on-year. Revenues amounted to 14.7 trillion soums ($1.1 billion), up 11.2 percent over the year.
However, financial indicators such as equity (48 trillion soums or $3.8 billion), retained earnings (5.7 trillion soums or $453.3 million), and gross profit (3.1 trillion soums or $246.5 million) decreased significantly.
Uzbekneftegaz significantly increased dividend payments by doubling their amount over the year to 2.5 trillion soums ($198.8 million). Long-term bank loans decreased slightly from 18 to 17.6 trillion soums (from $1.4 billion to $1.3 billion). However, short-term loans tripled, reaching 2.2 trillion soums ($174.9 million).
Earlier, Fitch Ratings left the rating outlook of Uzbekneftegaz unchanged, only downgrading the creditworthiness from 'b+' to 'b' due to weaker-than-expected profitability, a projected slower decline in leverage, prolonged limited liquidity, and a recent breach of an interest coverage covenant for which the company received a non-compliance permit.
