Dear Valued Shareholders,
It is with great pleasure that I present to you an overview of our Company's achievements in 2022. This year has been filled with economic challenges and the ongoing political situation in our region. Nevertheless, our focus has remained on developing our Company, achieving strong financial results, and contributing to the growth of the electricity sector in Gaza.
I am proud to report that we have achieved several of our goals this year, and we look forward to achieving even more in 2023. Our successes will help to support the national economy and bring stability and prosperity to the Gaza Strip. One of the main milestones we achieved is the signing of the extension of the Power Purchase Agreement with PENRA which allows us to generate electricity for an additional five years.
Despite the challenges we faced, our Company has remained financially strong. We achieved profits of US$ 14 million in 2022, contributing to the growth of our assets and shareholders' equity value. Our share gained the confidence of several shareholders, leading to high trading volumes closing at US$ 2.30 per share at the end of 2022. This represents a 24% increase over the closing price at the end of 2021.
We have also collected part of the outstanding receivables due from PENRA in full coordination with Ministry of Finance & PNA. We are working continuously, and through the cooperation with the Ministry of Finance and the Palestinian Authority, to collect the accumulated accounts receivables due from PENRA. This will contribute to providing the necessary liquidity to fulfill our financial and contractual obligations for the maintenance and operation activities of the plant.
Despite the challenges we faced, we continued to operate with high efficiency and effectiveness, providing our families in Gaza with the essential power they need for their work activities.
We made significant progress in our efforts to supply natural gas to the power plant. Through our cooperation with PENRA and the Qatar Gaza Reconstruction Committee (QGRC), we have achieved important milestones that will help to develop the electricity sector in Gaza. These milestones include plans to introduce clean energy, negotiations on a stable supply of natural gas to the power plant, and the preparation of expansion plan studies to increase the power plant's capacity to 500 MW in the near future. These developments will contribute to the stability of electricity sector and growth of economic and industrial sectors in Gaza.
Our Company also continued its active social contributions during 2022, focusing on supporting the humanitarian needs.
Finally, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the Palestinian National Authority, the Qatari-Gaza Reconstruction Committee, and all relevant local and international parties for their efforts to resolve the electricity crisis in the Gaza Strip. I also extend my thanks and appreciation to the Board of Directors for their continued support and efforts, allowing us to achieve our mission. I would like to give special acknowledgement to all the Company's staff for their commitment and hard work.
Thank you for your continued support of our Company. We look forward to achieving even greater success in the coming year.
Walid Salman
Vice Chairman & Executive Managing Director