Dana Gas loses Dh32m

Dana Gas lost Dh32 million (US$8.7m) in the first quarter of this year, compared with a Dh25m net profit in the same period last year.

The company, based in Sharjah, attributed the difference mainly to a one-time financial gain last year from the sale of some of its Egyptian oil and gas assets, its biggest source of revenue and earnings.

Dana agreed to sell its 30 per cent interest in Egypt’s West Gharib concession in Feb 2008. The transaction boosted the company’s bottom line for the first three months of last year by Dh45m, an amount appearing on its income statement for the period as “other income”.