Natural gas distributor ENN aims for sales volume growth despite price hike

Mainland urban natural gas distributor ENN Energy (2688.HKG) is aiming to grow sales volume by 25% this year despite a September price hike that pared its profit margin, South China Morning Post reported, citing officials at the company. While ENN announced on Friday that recurring net profit had risen 21% to RMB2.34 billion (US$377.3 million) last year, as gas sales grew 25.9% to 10.12 billion cubic meters–down from 29% growth in 2013. However the price hike hit China’s vehicular gas market hard, as drivers of diesel and gasoline-powered vehicles hesitated to invest in natural gas engines with oil prices plummeting.