DUBAI: Abu Dhabi National Oil Company’s gas subsidiary reported higher first quarter profit on Thursday, as lower prices and volumes at the gas unit were offset by lower cost of raw gas supply, the company said.

ADNOC Gas, which debuted with a March IPO that raised $2.5 billion, reported a net income of $1.3 billion for the first quarter ended March 31, up 9% from the year earlier, on a pro forma adjusted basis.

The company, which is targeting to pay a dividend of $1.625 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023, said net income for the reported quarter included a one-time tax benefit of $300 million.

Revenue fell 15% year-on-year to $6.2 billion.

Sequentially, profits rose 18% from the fourth quarter, while revenue dropped 11%.

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“We see long-term structural demand growth for natural gas as a critical fuel in the responsible global energy transition and we are ideally positioned to meet both local and international demand,” ADNOC Gas CEO Ahmed Alebri said in the filing.

State oil giant ADNOC’s drilling unit also reported first-quarter net income of $219 million, up by a quarter from a year earlier and 6% lower than the fourth quarter.

ADNOC Drilling revenue was $716 million, a rise of 19% from the previous year and down 2% from the fourth quarter.

The company reiterated guidance for fiscal 2023 of revenue between $3 billion to 3.2 billion and net income of $850 million to $1 billion.

ADNOC said on Wednesday it intends to offer 15% of its unit ADNOC Logistics & Services through an IPO expected on June 1, in what would be the sixth company it offers shares in.