SNGP profits hit record high, curbing theft to 18-year low

Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Ltd (SNGP) has reported the strongest earnings in its six-decade history. Net profit for the financial year ending June 2024 surged to Rs18.98 billion (EPS Rs29.92), an 80% jump over the previous year’s Rs10.56 billion.

Management attributes the windfall largely to a dramatic reduction in unaccounted-for-gas (UFG) – the catch-all term that covers technical losses, leakage and outright theft. UFG slipped to 4.93% of volumes, the lowest level in 18 years . Every percentage-point shaved off this metric adds roughly Rs4–5 billion to the bottom line, analysts estimate, so an 18-year low translates directly into record profits.

Behind the headline number lies a three-pronged campaign. Pipeline rehabilitation across Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, focusing on vintage steel mains that accounted for two-thirds of distribution losses a decade ago. Advanced metering at bulk connections, which has cut “commercial losses” (i.e., theft) by double digits. And targeted enforcement with law-enforcement agencies in known theft hotspots – particularly the textile clusters of Faisalabad and the brick-kiln belts outside Lahore.

These measures have pushed SNGP’s UFG below the 5% regulatory benchmark for the first time since 2006, narrowing the revenue gap that regulators previously disallowed when setting tariffs.