GAS says profit discrepancy was mistake

GAS says profit discrepancy was mistake

The PetroVietnam Gas Corporation (GAS) has said the VND800 billion (US$37.7 million) discrepancy in its financial reports from the first six months of this year was due to false estimation.

In a statement, the company said profit calculations were made on the 25th day of June, before the end of the second quarter.

"By that time, we could not collect all the cost and revenue figures for the entire company to generate a precise estimate for the period".

The early estimate was posted on GAS's website on July 18, showing the company had earned a net half yearly profit of VND6.2 trillion ($292.4 million).

A week later, a second report was sent to the HCM City Stock Exchange saying profits had actually exceeded VND7 trillion ($330.1 million).

Analysts say the company's explanation does not explain the significant discrepancy between the two figures.

The first report which indicated a second quarter profit of VND2 trillion ($94.3 million), declining 50 per cent from the first quarter, triggered a major sell off in GAS shares. In the week before the correction, company stocks dropped from VND65,500 ($3) to VND63,000.

GAS closed yesterday's session at VND63,500 ($2.9) per share, up 0.8 per cent from Tuesday. 

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