Welcome to Fueling the Future, GASCO’s annual report for 2023.
In it, we look back on our achievements over the previous 12 months and also forward to the future.
Fueling the Future
GASCO is a business that is proud of the contribution it has made to the people and businesses of Saudi Arabia in the six decades since our foundation that made 2023 our 60th anniversary. It provided an opportunity to celebrate our heritage and legacy. But it also gave us the chance to step back and invest in preparing the business to face what we know will be a very different future, with the Saudi Arabian LPG market opening up to invite new competition.
We identified these changes early, and our strategic foresight has enabled us to rapidly adapt how we work in order to succeed in a very different operating environment. In 2023 we have focused our attention on implementing the changes we need to make to ensure that we are positioned to deliver future success. Those changes are already being implemented and will continue in 2024.
GASCO sees these changes positively. They provide an opportunity to catalyze innovation and drive future growth. We know that new entrants will challenge us to think and act differently, to foreground innovation, and to diversify our business model to deliver long-term value to our customers, stakeholders, and shareholders.
That is a challenge that we welcome.
Our business fundamentals are strong, and we are trusted by our customers to deliver the benefits and values that they need. This provides a strong foundation for our future growth.
This year, we have developed a strategic blueprint that responds to the challenges and opportunities unfolding in the LPG market, aligning with our core commitment to sustained growth and adaptability.
A Changing Market
GASCO has initiated a growth strategy in anticipation of imminent LPG market reforms, recognizing the need to seize emerging prospects in KSA and MENA.
Our commitment to shareholder returns and robust financial performance makes us uniquely positioned to maintain success within an increasingly competitive landscape.
At the heart of our approach is a clear strategy that balances safeguarding our core LPG business and venturing into adjacent sectors. This diversified approach is our response to the challenges posed by market reforms and macro changes, ensuring resilience in the face of tariff structure shifts and the global shift towards cleaner energy.
It is not just the market that is changing. The needs of consumers are evolving too, with a move to new types of fuel for heating and cooking as the Kingdom strives to reduce carbon emissions.
Partners in Sustainability
LPG can and will play a pivotal role in how households and businesses manage the transition to fully renewable energy sources.
Its low impurity rate means that it burns efficiently and completely and minimizes the emission of toxins and harmful substances. It also emits fewer CO2 emissions upon combustion compared to other fossil fuels making it an ideal solution for heating, cooking, transportation, and industry.
As a business, GASCO is a committed partner in the journey to a cleaner future. We are investing in the systems, technologies, and infrastructure that can reduce emissions further, making LPG a key part of the net zero transition.
In 2023, we saw a continuation of the growth of the business, driven by a new strategy and a focus on driving efficiencies through the business.
Focus on Delivery
This is the latest successful chapter in a story of business transformation that has re-established the business as a profitable and growing enterprise.
That journey will continue as we move forward, with a resilient and adaptable business model that can help meet the challenges ahead.
Across consumer sales, transportation, bulk sales, and corporate activities, our team has worked together to deliver transformational change that has led to sustained levels of growth. That is underpinned by GASCO’s commitment to innovation and the leveraging of new technologies.
GASCO’s customers, whether consumers or businesses, depend upon us to live their lives and run their businesses. We are partners that understand and will respond to their changing needs.
At GASCO, we believe in the importance of understanding our customers’ needs, and we work to provide them with the best services through continuous innovation and development.
If we continue to deliver the products and services that customers need in the way that they require them, then the future looks very bright for the business.
That change will require strategic leadership and investment to develop the team and the services we require to penetrate new markets.
Vision 2030
Our plan is not just a roadmap; it's an expression of our commitment to shaping a resilient and prosperous future for GASCO, the communities we serve, and Saudi Arabia as a whole. This approach has been guided and shaped by the overarching framework provided by Vision 2030.
GASCO contributes across all three core pillars of the Vision program; A Vital Society, A Thriving Economy, and an Ambitious Nation. All colleagues across the business understand the role and responsibility that they have to help ensure that Vision 2030 delivers the transformation change that it envisages. It is a responsibility that we will continue to strive to deliver.
Despite challenges, including increased raw material prices globally and plans for deregulation of the LPG market to encourage wider competition, GASCO is confident in our strategy for growth.
Creating a New Legacy
We continue to actively seek alternative solutions to ensure the sustained provision of high-quality and reliable services to our customers while safeguarding investor interests.
In conclusion, I wish to express my formal gratitude to The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud and His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, for their visionary leadership.
I also wish to thank the Ministry of Energy, particularly Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman the Minister of Energy, and all government agencies for their unwavering support.