Doha, Qatar • 20 January 2021
WOQOD achieves QR 707 million at the end of the fiscal year 2020
Qatar Fuel Company, hereinafter referred to as (WOQOD) or
“WOQOD Group” or “the Group”, with code name “QFLS” on Qatar Exchange, a
company with an exclusive concession in the State of Qatar to distribute, sell,
transport and market refined petroleum products & (including) , airports
and seaports, either by itself or through subsidiary companies
“QJET, FAHES & WOQOD Marine”, announced that its
Board of Directors had held its annual meeting at 1:30 pm. on Wednesday,
January 20th 2021, under the chairmanship of Mr. Ahmed Saif
Al-Sulaiti. In accordance with the official directives issued with the aim of
combating the spread of the coronavirus "Covid-19", the meeting was
held remotely through the utilization of a Video Call facility, where the Board
discussed and approved – inter alia- the
performance of the company's business operations and financial results of WOQOD
Group for the fiscal year ended on December 31, 2020 ,compared to the results
achieved in the year 2019.
WOQOD Group net profit for 2020
(excluding minority rights) amounted to QR. 707 million, compared to an amount
of QR 1.216 million achieved in the past year 2019, representing a decrease
rate of 42%. Earning by share for the period amounted to QR. 0.71, compared to QR
1.22 for the past year, while Shareholders Equity decreased by about 1.3% to
reach about 8.6 billion riyals compared to 8.7 billion riyals for 2019. The
decline in net profit and earnings per share was attributed to the slowdown
caused by the spread of the Covid-19 corona pandemic, which the company managed
to reduce its negative impacts by taking several proactive steps and
initiatives to ensure continuity of its business under these critical
circumstances, in addition to the continuation of the company’s efforts to
implement its policy of increasing efficiency and rationalizing expenditures,
which had a significant impact on reducing the decline in profits achieved
compared to 2019.
The CEO and Managing Director has
stated that there was an upward trend in results for the third and fourth
quarters of 2020 driven by increased fuel sales and the market recovery from Corona
virus “Covid-19” pandemic impacts.
Based on the company's profits in
2020, and taking into account the requirements of current and future projects
that the company intends to establish through the approved five-year business plan,
the Board has recommended to the company's Annual Shareholders General Assembly
scheduled for 08/03/2021 to approve a dividend distribution to shareholders of 0.46
QR per share.
In terms of the company's operations, Mr. Saad Rashid Al
Muhannadi, CEO and Managing Director, explained that year 2020 witnessed a
decrease in total sales of petroleum products by about 21%, compared to the
same period in 2019, due to supply and demand factors and the negative effects
of the Corona "Covid-19" pandemic, where diesel sales decreased by 9%,
Super gasoline by 10%, premium gasoline by 9%, jet fuel by -33%, bitumen by 60%,
LPG by 3%, and oil retail sales across gas stations decreased by 2% compared to
the year 2019 results. On the other hand, sales of bunker fuel and natural gas
increased by 7% and 13%, respectively, compared to the same period in 2019,
while non-oil retail sales revenues, including Sidra sales, increased by 11%,
due to the opening of several new petrol stations. In this regard, Al Muhannadi
pointed out that the company has supported the non-oil retail services sector
by marketing its automotive service products (oils and greases) through tie-up
with international manufacturers of these products.
The Board reviewed and approved the current and future
projects that the company plans to establish, where the company has opened one
technical inspection center, and 12 new petrol stations, thus increased the
number of stations operating by the end of 2020 to 108 stations, and the number
of technical inspection centers reached 12 centers. The first quarter of 2021 will
witness the completion of the construction and operation of three new stations,
in addition to five (5) other stations to be completed in year 2021. Mr.
Al-Muhannadi explained that the company has a dynamic plan for the construction
of new petrol stations, which will be periodically reviewed according to the
demand conditions and the need for petrol stations.
Based on the expansion of the petrol stations construction as
mentioned above, the share of WOQOD in the petroleum retail market increased by
3% to about 85% compared to the previous year 2019.
The company also opened and operated a number of 20 Sidra
Stores for consumer products, including three Sidra Stores in the metro
stations. In order to enhance the bunkering service and in coordination with
Qatar Petroleum, WOQOD has purchased two ships to serve ships visiting Qatari
ports, bringing the number of vessels owned by WOQOD to ten (10), resulting in
a record number of sales of fuel since the establishment of the company, where
the total sales by the end of 2020 amounted to about 949 metric tons.
Al-Muhannadi also referred to the actions taken by WOQOD
Group towards the Qatarization of jobs, the implementation of the Service Localization
Initiative, and the measures taken towards combating the Corona virus pandemic,
where WOQOD continued to work closely with the relevant authorities to reduce
the negative effects of the pandemic, and thereby enabling WOQOD to ensure the
continuous and regular supply of refined petroleum products and gas to all
sectors in Qatar, in line with the applicable health, security, safety and
environmental health procedures and standards.
It is worth mentioning that WOQOD ranked first at level of the
Qatar Stock Exchange in terms of compliance with environmental, social and
governance requirements (ESG) according to the standards adopted in this
regard.
In conclusion, Al Muhannadi assured that the company’s
management and its board of directors will exert all
efforts to maintain and enhance the service levels and profit status of the
company, to achieve its vision mission and strategic
goals as a pioneer downstream oil and gas company at the regional level and to
build a modern,
robust and state-of-the-art petroleum products distribution sector
within the country, in order to keep up with the
general policy of the State of Qatar in the modernization of infrastructure
facilities, and to provide the best services according
to the best QHSSE standards, and achieve the best results for its valued shareholders.
