Profit before tax grew RM130.9 mil to RM175.5 million

Malakoff Corporation Berhad (“Malakoff” or “Group”), the largest Independent Power Producer (“IPP”) in Malaysia and South East Asia in terms of total generation capacity, recorded strong growth for its first quarter ended 31 March 2015 (“Q1 FY2015”).

PBT registered almost a 300% increase to RM175.5 million, an increase of RM130.9 million from RM44.6 million. At the same time, group revenue increased by 9% to RM1.35 billion from RM1.24 billion in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

In Q1 FY2015, PATMI jumped to RM103.9 million leading to a similar increase in basic EPS at 2.90 sen from RM2.6 million and 0.07 sen respectively in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

Malakoff attributed its revenue growth for the quarter under review to the higher capacity registered by its coal-fired 2,100 megawatt (“MW”) Tanjung Bin Power Plant (“TBPP”) and the consolidation of Port Dickson Power (“PDP”) profit pursuant to the completion of the PDP acquisition in 2014.

In April 2014, Malakoff had acquired the remaining 75% equity interest in PDP not held by the Group, a move that is expected to enhance its profitability.

PBT growth for the quarter was also supported by other factors such as lower finance costs and higher interest income.

Dato’ Sri Syed Faisal Albar, Chief Executive Officer of Malakoff, said “Our Q1 performance is reflective of our growth trajectory based on a solid business model and stable cashflow.”

“Moving forward, we remain focused on delivering growth that are earnings accretive to Group performance, adding value to our shareholders,” he added.

Malakoff declared a single-tier interim dividend of 3 sen per share for the financial year ending 31 December 2015.

The Group’s finance costs will also be lower with the redemption of the Unrated Junior Sukuk Musharakah utilising the RM1.8 billion gross proceeds raised from its initial public offering exercise which concluded with its listing on Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad earlier this month.

Barring unexpected developments, Malakoff expects better performance for FY2015 against the previous year on the back of higher contribution from TBPP where all three 700MW turbine units are now available at full capacity. The Group’s gas-fired power plants in Lumut and Prai are also expected to continue performing well. In addition, the full year contribution from PDP will further enhance the Group’s profitability.

Results Highlights

Q1 FY2015 ended 31 March 2015 versus Q1 FY2014 ended 31 March 2014: