KUALA LUMPUR: Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) is predicting a stable performance for the rest of 2024, saying it will continue to adopt prudent business strategies to ensure it remains resilient.
The group emphasised its commitment to remain a key player in advancing the National Energy Transition Roadmap (NETR) while pursuing sustainable growth and value for its stakeholders.
Releasing its results for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2024, (3Q24), the national power provider saw net profit soar 85% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM1.58bil, as revenue also edged up 6.6% to RM14.4bil.
TNB attributed the strong 3Q24 performance to foreign exchange translation gains and improved revenue from improved sales of electricity by 4.9%, or RM647.8mil, as earnings per share (EPS) grew from 14.85 to 27.33.
The quarterly showing translates into a year-to-September (9M24) net earnings of RM3.74bil, which also represented a jump of 71.2% y-o-y compared to the same period of 2023, driven by a turnover increase of 7.5% to RM42.4bil.
In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, the group said demand growth contributed to the 9M24 results, rising by 7.6% during the period primarily from the commercial and domestic sectors.
“Imbalance cost pass-through (ICPT) was in a lower under-recovery position of RM7.37bil as compared to RM8.49bil in the corresponding period of last year due to lower fuel prices,” it added,
Despite the group’s positive revenue growth and lower fuel prices, TNB reported that operating profit slightly decreased by 1.6% y-o-y or RM96mil, primarily due to impairment on investment in associates and higher other operating costs.
Additionally, it pointed out that the growth in net profit during the first nine months of the year was also driven by gains in foreign exchange translation, higher sales of electricity and improved operational performance.
EPS for 9M24 escalated from 37.91 a year ago to 64.60.
Compared with the preceding quarter ended June 30, net profit also saw a 9.7% growth from RM1.44bil, despite revenue increase actually experiencing a marginal 0.1% slide from RM14.37bil.
The growth in sequential quarterly net profit was primarily due to higher foreign exchange translation gains, which was offset by higher other operating costs and a one-off other operating income recognised in the preceding quarter, revealed TNB.
Having declared a 25 sen dividend in 2Q24 so far in the current financial year, the group did not propose any dividends for the quarter in review.
TNB commented that electricity demand in 9M24 had grown by 7.6%, in tandem with Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 5.3% in 3Q024, reflecting the continued strength of the national economy.