Spanish LNG terminal operator, Enagás reported a net profit of €103.9 million ($126.8 million) for the first quarter of 2018, edging out the 2017 result by 1 percent.
The company attributed the growth in the period to a stricter control of operating and financial expenses, and affiliates’ contribution, which accounts for more than 19 percent of net profit.
In the first quarter of 2018, Enagás invested a total of €42 million in assets in which the company already had a presence. Of this figure, approximately €35 million were for the construction of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), a project in which Enagás holds a 16 percent stake.
At the closing of the first quarter, construction was about 70 percent complete with the operational start-up of this infrastructure planned for 2020.
Enagás added that its partnership with Snam and Fluxys, both partners in the TAP project, were awarded the tender to acquire 66 percent DESFA, operator of the Greek gas grid and country’s only LNG terminal on the island of Revithoussa.
Reflecting on the gas demand in Spain, Enagás said it grew by 5.2 percent during the quarter under review compared to the corresponding period last year.
This growth was mainly the result of the conventional demand, which grew by 6.5 percent due to low temperatures and the increase in industrial consumption, in line with the positive evolution of the Spanish economy.
Total demand for natural gas in Spain for the year to date has been growing by more than 7 percent, the company’s statement reads.