KUALA LUMPUR (May 25): YTL Power International Bhd's net profit in the third quarter ended March 31, 2017 (3QFY17) slipped 9% to RM160.63 million or 2.07 sen per share from RM176.49 million or 2.29 sen a year ago.

Revenue rose year-on-year by 6.5% to RM2.39 billion from RM2.24 billion.

During 3QFY17, its mobile broadband business and power generation business registered pre-tax losses, due to overhead and depreciation costs. It noted that its Paka Plant will only come online in September this year. The company saw a decrease in income in water sewerage business due to strengthening of the ringgit against the British pound.

For the cumulative nine months of FY17 (9MFY17), YTL Power's net profit fell 28.8% to RM473.93 million from RM665.93 million.

In 9MFY16, there was a one-off gain from an arbitration award on recovery of impairment of receivable before tax amounting to RM152.6 million and interest income of RM38 million in the power generation segment, the group said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia.

With that, it said profit before tax (PBT) in 9MFY17 would have been RM680.7 million with the adjustment for the one-off gain.

"Hence, the current year-to-date profit before tax of RM644.3 million as compared to the adjusted preceding year corresponding period decreased by RM36.4 million or 5.3%, mainly due to the strengthening of ringgit against Great Britain pound accorded in water and sewerage segment and lower interest income accorded in investment holding activities segment," it said.

Meanwhile, revenue in 9MFY17 dipped 11% to RM7.19 billion from RM8.08 billion in 9MFY16.

Moving forward, YTL Power said the development of Tanjung Jati A, a 2x660 MW coal-fired power project in Java, which is undertaken by its 80%-owned PT Tanjung Jati Power Company is in the development stage and "progress is underway towards achieving financial close".

Further, the group also completed the increase in its equity interest in Attarat Power Company (APCO) to 45% (from 30%) upon the project achieving financial close on March 16 this year.

APCO is developing a 554MW oil shale fired power generation project in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

APCO also signed a 30-year power purchase agreement with the National Electric Power Company (NEPCO), the Jordan state-owned utility, for the entire electrical capacity and energy of the power plant with an option for NEPCO to extend the power purchase agreement to 40 years.

"The power station is under development and scheduled to commence operation in mid-2020," YTL Power said.

YTL Power closed unchanged at RM1.52, valuing the group at RM11.79 billion.