TNB’s Q4 net profit more than halved due to ringgit depreciation

PETALING JAYA: State-controlled power producer Tenaga Nasional Bhd’s (TNB) net profit fell by 65.2% in the fourth quarter ended Aug 31, 2015 due to the weaker ringgit.

TNB said its earnings for the quarter fell RM535.0 million to RM820.9 million from RM1.35 billion due mainly to the translation loss of RM733.5 million compared with a gain of RM153.1 million in the same period last year, due to the weakening of the ringgit against the US dollar and Japan’s yen.

In a stock exchange filing yesterday, TNB said quarterly revenue and electricity sales were almost flat at RM11.74 billion and RM11.3 billion, respectively.

TNB recommended a final single-tier dividend of 19.0 sen per share for FY2015.

For the 12-month period (FY2015), TNB’s net profit declined by 5.7% to RM6.1 billion from RM6.4 billion reported in 2014.

“The current reporting period recorded a translation loss of RM819.3 million as compared with a gain of RM445.3 million reported in the previous year due to the strengthening of the US dollar and Japanese yen against the ringgit,” it explained.

Revenue in the period increased slightly to RM43.3 billion from RM42.8 billion for the same period last year.

TNB said revenue recorded included the Imbalance Cost Pass-Through over-recovery amount of RM1.9 billion for the period from Jan 1, 2014 until Aug 31, 2015.

Operating expenses for FY2015 declined by 2.2% to RM35.5 billion from RM36.3 billion in FY2014 due mainly to lower generation costs resulting from lower consumption of liquefied natural gas (LNG), as well as oil and distillate. Lower commodity prices, specifically for coal and LNG, also contributed to lower generation costs.

Capital expenditure for FY2015 was at RM10.8 billion compared with the RM10 billion invested in the previous year.

TNB shares fell 8 sen, or 0.63%, to RM12.66 yesterday, with 12.3 million units traded.