According to the ICICI Direct Research, the sales volume of the city gas distribution (CGD) companies is expected to fall in the range of 3-36 per cent year-on-year (YoY) due to the localised lockdown to contain the spread of Covid-19 pandemic. Although the sale of compressed natural gas (CNG) has sharply increased quarter-on-quarter (QoQ), the YoY figures still remain low. On the other hand, the industrial piped natural gas (PNG) sales volume has witnessed a faster recovery to reach near normal, as per ICICI Direct Research. It further expects the domestic PNG sales volume to remain steady, with higher YoY gross margins because of low gas prices.
ICICI Direct Research estimates the impact of pandemic on the revenues and profits of key players in the CGD sector such as GAIL (India) Limited, Gujarat Gas Limited, Indraprastha Gas Limited and Mahanagar Gas Limited, amongst others.