UAE-based energy firm Dana Gas posted an 85 per cent fall in its second-quarter net profit on Thursday.

The privately-owned energy firm made a net profit of Dh25 million ($6.8 million) in the three months to June 30, down from Dh169 million in the prior-year period, it said in a statement.

Dana Gas also reported falling profits in the previous two quarters, hit by the slump in oil prices, which have fallen by more than half from a June 2014 peak.

The company's quarterly revenue wasDh425 million versus Dh685 million a year earlier.

Dana Gas is one of the largest oil and gas investors in Iraqi Kurdistan but it is currently in a London arbitration process with the Kurdistan Regional Government, where the firm is seeking to confirm its contract rights and obtain payments for products it had delivered.

“Despite the steep fall in global oil prices over the past year and events in the region, Dana Gas has remained profitable and strengthened its operations with new investments,” said Dr Patrick-Allman Ward, CEO of Dana Gas.

“We are looking forward to additional production and cash generation in the second half of the year from our new investment program in Egypt which is now under way as well as from our Zora field in the UAE coming on-stream. With our continued cost discipline and this expected increase in production, Dana Gas is well positioned to benefit from any improvements in the oil price in the future,” he added. - TradeArabia News Service and Reuters