Gas Natural profits dip on lower asset sales

Spain's biggest gas supplier, Gas Natural, said on Wednesday its first-half net profit was down 3.6 percent at 822 million euros ($1.182 billion), due to lower capital gains on asset sales compared to last year. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or EBITDA, a key measure of profitability, was up 0.4 percent at 2.386 billion euros. Gas Natural stock was up 1.35 percent on the Madrid stock market to 14.62 euros following the news. The group blamed the decline in net profits on the "lower capital gains over this period on the sale of assets compared to the first half of 2010." In Spain, gas sales grew 1.3 percent to 462 million euros while in Latin America they increased by 5.6 percent to 302 million euros.