Dana Gas disappointed investors and analysts on Monday by posting a second consecutive quarterly loss, but the Sharjah-based company's share price could rebound on hopes of a financial turnaround.
Scott Darling, an analyst with Nomura International, continues to rate the stock a "buy", despite the Dh193 million (US$52.5m) fourth-quarter net loss due to exploration expenses and asset write-downs.
"Our discussions with management suggest the company has taken the opportunity to draw a line under 2009 by ensuring a more robust balance sheet for the coming year," he wrote in a research note.
Mr Darling now forecasts earnings swinging to Dh0.02 per share this year from an estimated loss of Dh0.09 per share last year, and tripling to Dh0.06 per share next year. Nomura's Dh1.50 target for Dana's share price is 67 per cent higher than yesterday's Dh0.90 close on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange.
Dana pumps gas and small amounts of oil in Egypt and Iraqi Kurdistan while awaiting the start-up of a stalled joint venture to import Iranian gas into the UAE. Only the Egyptian operations generate revenue, so why is Mr Darling bullish?
The reason is Dana's solid performance in Egypt since 2006, when it acquired Centurion Energy International, a Canadian company with Egyptian oil and gas concessions, for about US$1 billion.
Centurion's output was falling, but after vigorous exploration efforts yielding 12 discoveries in the past two years, production is again trending upwards. Dana has targeted a 15 per cent increase in its Egyptian oil and gas output this year, after raising production by 20 per cent last year. On Tuesday, at a gas conference in Abu Dhabi, the company's exploration manager presented detailed geophysical data supporting the aggressive production target. Dana has also released a full assessment of its Egyptian reserves, which Mr Darling agrees "should support production growth within the region".
@Email:tcarlisle@thenational.ae
Analysis
Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more
SPECS
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Barbie
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New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
What is tokenisation?
Tokenisation refers to the issuance of a blockchain token, which represents a virtually tradable real, tangible asset. A tokenised asset is easily transferable, offers good liquidity, returns and is easily traded on the secondary markets.
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
Brief scores:
Day 1
Toss: South Africa, field first
Pakistan (1st innings) 177: Sarfraz 56, Masood 44; Olivier 4-48
South Africa (1st innings) 123-2: Markram 78; Masood 1-4
Brief scores:
Toss: South Africa, chose to field
Pakistan: 177 & 294
South Africa: 431 & 43-1
Man of the Match: Faf du Plessis (South Africa)
Series: South Africa lead three-match series 2-0
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
