(Refiles to correct date in dateline)
* Sees Q2 net profit, FY net profit
* Sees Q3 profit on sales of imported gas
* Sees investments at over PLN 3 bln in 2009
* Drops interest in chemical sector, mulls Tarnow exit
By Patryk Wasilewski and Pawel Bernat
WARSAW, June 17 (Reuters) - Poland's gas monopoly, PGNiG, expects to move into positive territory in the second quarter and for the year as prices of imported gas will drop faster than tariffs, its chief executive told Reuters.
Michal Szubski said he expects the monopoly, which imports about two-thirds of its gas from Russia, to turn a profit on sales of the imported gas in the third quarter of this year -- the first time since mid-2007.
"Starting from the third quarter, we should be making a profit on gas sales," Szubski said in an interview on Wednesday. "We will have a profit for the whole of 2009... Also in the second quarter we should have a net profit."
PGNiG suffered two consecutive quarters of net losses as it had to buy Russian gas at prices significantly higher than state regulated tariffs for its customers.
PGNiG paid 2.8 billion zlotys for imported gas in the first quarter, up 86 percent from a year ago, and posted a loss of 399 million zlotys.
Szubski, at the helm of the state-controlled monopoly since 2007, expects the ongoing global crisis to translate into lower natural gas sales this year and, potentially, in 2010.
"I think the drop in gas demand will be temporary. A lot depends on the energy sector and the investments it is carrying out. However, demand this year and next may be lower," he said.
PGNiG sold 13.7 billion cubic metres of gas last year, a slight increase from 13.6 billion a year earlier.
CASH WOES LIMIT INVESMTENTS
The ongoing financial crisis, which has affected many industries and brought the European Union's largest ex-communist economy to a near halt, will not only translate into lower demand for PGNiG gas but also poses a problem for liquidity.
Szubski said he was worried about the possibility of clients delaying payments due to financial problems and said it had to monitor its cash position for signs of trouble with liquidity.
"Our past experiences show that we are at the end of the payments chain and in times of crisis our partners may try to transfer their liquidity problems onto us," Szubski said.
Potential troubles with liquidity are a reason for caution on investments, which are being trimmed. Szubski expects PGNiG to spend close to 24 billion zlotys in 2009-2015 on investments, down from the 30 billion originally planned.
The monopoly has largely ditched its previous interest in the chemical sector and is willing to sell its 10.2 percent stake at medium-sized maker ZA Tarnow, though only if it can cash in a premium to the purchase price.
"We are not going to increase our stake at Tarnow. On the contrary, if we can cash in a premium at this investment we will sell the stake. When that happens will depend on market conditions," Szubski said.
The monopoly bought the 10.2 percent stake for 19.50 zlotys per share, or 78 million zlotys. On Wednesday, at 0745 GMT, Tarnow shares were traded at 16.92 zlotys each.
Szubski said PGNiG would continue its existing projects and invest in gas exploration and extraction as well as the power sector. However, in the latter case it is less ambitious than before, he added. (Editing by Simon Jessop)