Turnover of Conexus gas transmission system operator down 0.3% in Q1

RIGA, May 26 (LETA) - Latvian natural gas transmission and storage operator Conexus Baltic Grid (Conexus) closed the first quarter of 2023 with EUR 15.739 million in turnover, down 0.3 percent from the same period a year before, while the company's profit declined 5 percent to EUR 5.164 million, according to information released by the company.

LETA was told at the company that in the first quarter of 2023, Conexus ensured uninterrupted gas supplies to Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Finland.

In line with the Energy Law's provision banning natural gas imports from Russia, gas delivery routes were timely diversified, with suppliers delivering gas from the Klaipeda LNG terminal. Natural gas received from Lithuania in the first quarter of 2023 amounted to 4.4 terawatt hours (TWh), almost twice as much as in the first three months of last year.

The company's representatives also noted that in the first quarter of this year gas traders were showing strong interest in the capacity of the Incukalns underground gas storage facility. In the first quarter, several capacity auctions were held at the Incukalns facility which saw a total of 8.7 TWh of capacity allocated to system users. With the requested storage capacity more than three times the auctioned storage capacity, all available storage capacity was fully auctioned by May 10 this year.

"The results of the first quarter of this year show that together we have successfully prevented natural gas supply risks across the region by rearranging natural gas supply routes and ensuring the availability of adequate infrastructure," said Conexus CEO Uldis Bariss.

He also note that in the first quarter of 2023 Latvia consumed 3.3 TWh of gas, which is 8 percent less than in the same period last year. The decrease was mainly due to the warm weather conditions, which reduced the need for natural gas for heating, as well as the unprecedently high natural gas prices, which forced users to reduce gas consumption.

Conexus' earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation, or EBITDA, was EUR 10.2 million in the first quarter of this year, an increase of 2 percent.

In order to ensure uninterrupted gas transmission and to maintain natural gas infrastructure in line with safety requirements, Conexus continued to implement investment projects as well as routine maintenance and monitoring of the system, investing EUR 6 million in the first quarter of this year.

In the first quarter of 2022, Conexus had a turnover of EUR 15.78 million and a profit of EUR 5.433 million.

Conexus Baltic Grid is a unified natural gas transmission and storage system operator in Latvia. The company manages the Incukalns underground gas storage, which is an important strategic object for the Nordic-Baltic region and one of the most modern natural gas storage facilities in Europe. Its 1,188 km natural gas transmission network connects the Latvian natural gas market with Lithuania, Estonia and Russia.

Conexus belongs to Augstsprieguma Tikls (68.46 percent) and MM Capital Infrastructure Fund managed by Japan's Marubeni (29.06 percent).