PETALING JAYA: Petronas Gas Bhd’s (PetGas) net profit for the third quarter ended Sept 30 increased 36.9% to RM591.01 million from RM431.59 million a year ago on higher contribution from all segments, particularly regasification and gas processing segments due to lower operating costs and higher unrealised foreign exchange gain.
Its revenue jumped 5.2% to RM1.41 billion from RM1.34 billion mainly contributed by higher revenue from regasification and utilities segment in line with new tariffs for Regulatory Period 1 (RP1) effective Jan 1, 2020 and higher steam and industrial gases sales volume respectively.
For the nine months period, PetGas’ net profit surged 3.9% to RM1.51 billion from RM1.45 billion, while revenue increased 2.9% to RM4.2 billion from RM4.09 billion.
The board of directors has approved a third interim dividend of 18 sen per share amounting to RM356.2 million in respect of the financial year ending Dec 31, 2020.
Looking ahead, as announced by the group on Dec 20, 2019, the Energy Commission has approved the incentive-based regulation tariffs for RP1 for gas transportation and regasification services which commence from Jan 1, 2020 to Dec 31, 2022.
The group’s transportation and regasification business segment are anticipated to continue contributing positively to the group’s earnings under the RP1 tariffs.
The group’s gas processing segment is expected to remain stable on the back of its strong and sustainable income stream under the second term of the 20-year gas processing agreement effective from 2019 until 2023.
The group’s utilities segment contribution will be driven by customer demand, underpinned by economic conditions.
“The Covid-19 pandemic is not expected to significantly impact the group’s overall earnings as the group’s business model and long-term contracts ensures steady revenue streams, particularly for gas processing, gas transportation and regasification business segments,” PetGas said.
