WOQOD achieves QR 974 million at the end of the fiscal year 2021.
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 19th 2022, 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 virtually, where the Board discussed and approved – inter alia- the performance of the company's business operations and financial results of WOQOD Group for the year ended 31 December 2021 as compared to the results achieved in the year 2020.
WOQOD Group net profit for 2021 (excluding minority rights) amounted to QR 974 million, as compared to an amount of QR 707 million achieved in the past year 2020, representing an increase of 38%. Earnings per share for the period amounted to QR 0.98, as compared to QR 0.71 for the past year, while Shareholders Equity increased by about 7% to reach 9.0 billion riyals compared to 8.4 billion riyals for the year 2020. The increase in net profit and earnings per share was attributed to a noticeable improvement in the performance of most of the Group's activities and sales in conjunction with the signs of recovery from the pandemic. This coupled with the increased efforts exerted towards implementing the already approved efficiency and rationalization of expenditure policy in the Group's business, where the company managed to reduce the negative impacts of the pandemic by taking several proactive steps and initiatives to ensure continuity of its business under these critical circumstances, particularly in the retail business , where we opened more Sidra convenience stores, introduced more WOQOD branded products and lubricants, We have also launched some more initiatives and projects in aviation, marine, bunkering, technical inspection, and non-retail segments.
The Board reviewed and approved the current and future projects that the company plans to establish, where the company has opened nine Sidra Convenience Stores, and 3 new petrol stations, thus increased the number of stations operating by the end of 2021 to 111 stations. The year of 2022 will witness the completion of the construction and operation of 12 new stations, thus bringing the number of stations to 123 stations. Mr. Saad Rashid Al Muhannadi, Managing Director and CEO 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 reached to about 85% in the year 2021.
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.
Based on the company's profits in 2021 and taking into account the requirements of current and future projects, the Board has recommended to the Company's Annual Shareholders General Assembly scheduled for 27 February2022 to approve a Dividend distribution to shareholders of 0.76 QR per share.
In recognition of the good performance of WOQOD Group in the fields of environment, governance, and social responsibility, WOQOD was ranked by MSCI QSE ESG Index as the sixth best company in the fields of governance, environment, and social responsibility. Also, WOQOD was ranked by Forbes among the top 100 listed joint stock companies in the Middle East for 2021. The ranking was based on the most valuable companies across Middle East.
On the other-hand, Al-Muhannadi mentioned that the Board of Directors have decided to issue its recommendation to the Extraordinary General Assembly to amend WOQOD Articles of Association to conform to the Commercial Companies Act 2015 as amended by the law no. 8 of the year 2021 and also to admit Non-Qatari persons to own 100% of the Company share capital in line with the governmental recommendation after obtaining all the required consents.
In conclusion, Al-Muhannadi assured that WOQOD Group will exert all efforts to maintain and enhance the service levels, continue to focus on the efficiency improvement and operational excellence, and take all other viable measures in furtherance of the Group profitability and the achievement of its vision, mission and strategic goals as a pioneer downstream oil and gas company, and to build a modern, robust and state-of-the-art petroleum products distribution sector within the country, in order to keep pace 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.
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