KUALA LUMPUR: Tenaga Nasional Bhd’s net profit almost tripled to RM2.31 billion in the third quarter ended May 31 this year from RM789.4 million in the same period last year due to the recognition of Imbalance Cost Pass-Through (ICPT) and higher electricity sales.
Its nine-month net profit rose six per cent to RM5.6 billion from RM5.29 billion previously as group revenue for the period grew 5.6 per cent to RM33.29 billion from RM31.54 billion previously.
Group revenue in the third quarter increased 22.4 per cent to RM12.13 billion from RM9.9 billion in the same period last year.
TNB’s operating expenses for the nine-month period increased 4.2 per cent to RM26.8 billion from RM25.7 billion in the corresponding period last year.
Earnings per share was 40.91 sen in the quarter compared with 13.99 sen last year.
TNB said the ICPT recognised in the quarter was only RM537.6 million compared with RM1.82 billion in the corresponding quarter.
Electricity sales increased by RM798.4 million, or 7.4 per cent. This was mainly in Peninsular Malaysia, with sales growing 7.6 per cent against 6.2 per cent previously.
“The impact of the recognition of ICPT and higher electricity sales during the quarter had resulted in a higher profit attributable to the owners of the company by RM1.52 billion,” it said.
TNB president and chief executive officer Datuk Seri Azman Mohd expected that with the changing weather pattern, demand would revert to its normal trend and remain steady for the rest of this financial year, in tandem with the country’s economic growth.
Azman said TNB recorded multiple peak demands this year with the latest at 17,788 megawatts (MW) on April 20, or up 5.2 per cent, compared with the peak demand of 16,901MW recorded two years ago on June 11 2014.
“We have seen that electricity demand in Peninsular Malaysia continued its positive momentum in the third quarter of this financial year despite slower demand from the industrial sector,” he said in a statement.
TNB remained cautious on its prospect for its fiscal year ending August 31 due to the uncertainties in the global environment. “We took note of Bank Negara Malaysia’s monetary policy statement on July 13 which recognises that while the domestic economy remains on track to expand in 2016 and 2017, the uncertainties in the global environment could weigh on Malaysia’s growth prospects.”