September 12 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria's gas transmission network operator Bulgartransgaz said that its net profit declined to 58.7 million levs ($32.2 million/30 million euro) in the first half of 2023 from 115.4 million levs in the same period of last year.
In the same period, Bulgartransgaz's total revenue rose to some 448 million levs from 424 million levs a year ago, the company said in an interim financial statement last week.
Revenue from cross-border gas transmission increased by an annual 16.7% to 278 million levs, representing 62% of total revenue.
In the first half of 2023, exit flows to Greece fell 46% year-on-year to 6,151,312 MWh. At the same time, over 67% more natural gas, or 9,436,986 MWh was carried to the border with Romania. There was also a 28.7% rise in exit flows to North Macedonia, to 1,850,545 MWh. Natural gas volumes carried to the border with Serbia inched up 0.63% on the year in the six months through June, to 36,627,879 MWh.
Over the same period, revenue from gas transmission in the national grid jumped 29% year-on-year to 57.6 million levs.
The company's operating profit declined to 95.5 million levs in the review period from 114.5 million levs in the first half of 2022, due to impairment costs and depreciation expenses for non-financial assets.
The company also booked net financial expenses of 30.3 million levs in the first half of 2023, compared to a net financial income of 13.7 million levs a year earlier. This was due to a 29.4% slump in financial revenue caused by exchange rate fluctuations.
Bulgartransgaz's assets edged down to 7.80 billion levs at the end of June from 7.91 billion levs at the end of 2022.
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)