Naftogaz Ukraine reported a loss was Hr 19 billion ($685 million) in 2020, compared with a profit of Hr 2.6 billion in 2019, reflecting lower demand and gas prices and material provisions for bad debts, the company said on Tuesday on its website.
“The company bottomed out and started generating profit,” Executive Board Chairman Andriy Kobolev said at the presentation of the results.
He said that following the results of the first quarter Naftogaz will receive a net profit but refused to name it due to restrictions associated with a possible issue of eurobonds.
In a press release, the company said that the underlying profit for the entire year, excluding provisions for bad debts and other unusual items, was Hr 3.2 billion.
Naftogaz said that in the fourth quarter of 2020, the loss amounted to Hr 2.0 billion, compared with a loss of Hr 10.3 billion over the same period in 2019.
“The company has entered into a period of improved profitability with an expected underlying profit in the first quarter of 2021,” the company said.
Kobolev added that at the end of last year, Naftogaz’s free cash exceeded Hr 50 billion. And in the first quarter, they increased by another Hr 10 billion.
