Kuwait Petroleum Corp. (KPC) and its subsidiaries posted a net profit of 2.29 billion dollars in the last fiscal year following the surge in crude oil prices, an official report said Thursday.
Oil prices in the 1999/2000 budget that ended on June 30 were calculated on the basis of 10 dollars a barrel, while actual prices topped 20 dollars, the finance ministry report said.
Revenues stood at 20.37 billion dollars, more than double the estimated 9.88 billion dollars, while expenditures hit 17.82 billion dollars, also more than twice the projected 8.05 billion dollars.
KPC, which declared assets of 29 billion dollars, recorded 2.55 billion dollars in gross profits, of which some 260 million dollars was set aside as a mandatory reserve.
Sales of crude oil stood at 9.52 billion dollars and petroleum products at 7.96 billion dollars.
The oil-rich emirate has calculated oil income in the current nine-month budget (July-2000/March-2001) at 13 dollars a barrel, while the actual price of Kuwait's oil is currently topping 25 dollars a barrel.
Kuwait has limited the budget to nine months in a date switch to conform to a March/April budgetary year.
KPC has estimated this year's revenues at 9.36 billion dollars, with expenditures at 8.09 billion dollars, leaving a profit of 1.27 billion dollars.
KPC was established two decades ago to oversee the whole oil sector through a number of affiliates inside and outside Kuwait.
Besides operating in oil, KPC invests some 12 billion dollars of surplus in international markets and according to latest reports 45 percent of its profits come from returns on investments – KUWAIT CITY (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
