Intraco shares rally after winning gas supply contract

Intraco Refueling Station’s stock price surged by 9.51 per cent in two days after it won a 10-year contract to transport gas from Bhola gas fields and supply it to industries in Dhaka.

The cabinet committee on economic affairs on Thursday approved the contract with Intraco Refueling Station, a listed private firm, to initially transport 5 MMcfd of gas and later transport 20 MMcfd of gas in the form of CNG.

Intraco Refueling Station was opted eligible from nine companies that submitted proposals for the project, as the government has been looking for ways to bring in surplus gas to address the energy crisis.

Bhola is not connected to the national distribution pipeline. Bangladesh recently discovered multiple gas deposits in Bhola, which could reduce the country’s gas crisis at a time of the ongoing volatility in energy prices in the global market.

As per the DSE data, the company’s share price was Tk 32.6 on March 30, and on April 2, it reached Tk 35.70, becoming the third biggest gainer.

Intraco Refueling Station has been engaged in fuel business through CNG stations and was listed on the stock exchanges in 2018.

The firm announced earlier its intention to sell 29.6 lakh placement shares through the Dhaka Stock Exchange at the prevailing market price. It also targeted to collect Tk 50 crore by issuing bonds to set up eight more stations.

The company had raised Tk 30 crore through an initial public offering to establish a bottling plant in Chattogram’s Patenga, but later changed the project and decided to purchase a newly built LPG cylinder manufacturing factory.

According to the latest financial report, the company’s consolidated earnings per share (EPS) for the October-December quarter of 2022 stood at Tk 0.49, compared to Tk 0.21 for the same period of 2021.

Moreover, its consolidated EPS for the July-December period of 2022 was Tk 1.00, up from Tk 0.67 for the same period of 2021.