Bulgartransgaz lifts Jan-Sept net profit on lower expenses

Bulgartransgaz's revenue fell to 256.1 million levs in the first nine months of the year from 267.4 million levs in the comparable period of last year, the company said in an interim financial statement.

The company nearly halved its technological expenses to 25.1 million levs from 49.1 million levs in the prior-year period.

The major part of its company's expenses was formed by amortisation and depreciation costs, which increased to 77.8 million levs in the review period from 68.6 million levs the year before.

Earlier this year, Bulgartransgaz inked several large deals for the construction of infrastructure related to the so-called BalkanStream project - the local leg of the TurkStream pipeline.

Bulgartransgaz signed a 1.1 billion euro contract with a consortium of Saudi-based Arkad Engineering and Construction Company and its Italy-based joint venture company Arkad ABB for the construction of a gas pipeline to the border with Serbia, and a 351 million levs contract for the construction of compressor stations in Rasovo and Provadya with a consortium comprising Germany's Ferrostaal Industrieanlagen and Bulgaria's Glavbolgarstroy and Glavbolgarstroy International.

Last month, Bulgartransgaz said that it has secured six-month loans worth a total of 200 million euro ($222 million) from several lenders to finance the initial payments under the two contracts.

The offshore section of the TurkStream pipeline stretching 930 km across the Black Sea from Russia to Turkey consists of two parallel strings with annual throughput capacity of 15.75 billion cubic metres of gas each. One string is intended for consumers in Turkey, while the second will carry gas to customers in Europe through Bulgaria.

(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)