RIYADH: UAE-based private sector natural gas firm Dana Gas saw its profits double for the first quarter on the back of strong business performance. Its profit surged 125 percent to 198 million dirhams ($54 million) from 88 million dirhams in the first quarter a year earlier, according to the company release. Along with the profit increase, the company’s revenue rose 32 percent, reaching 513 million dirhams from 389 million dirhams in the same quarter last year. The increase in revenue and profit was driven by higher hydrocarbon prices and the company’s successful efforts to manage costs, it said. The energy firm also saw its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or EBITDA, grow by 62 percent to 297 million dirhams for the same period. Listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, Dana Gas is one of the largest regional natural gas companies in the Middle East.