KUALA LUMPUR (July 29): Tenaga Nasional Bhd shares rose as much as 24 sen or 1.7% after the state-controlled utility reported a 192% jump in third quarter net profit from a year earlier.

Shares of Tenaga rose to their highest so far today at RM14.56. At 10:04am, the stock pared gains at RM14.40 for a market value of RM80.82 billion.

The 10th-largest gainer on Bursa Malaysia saw some three million shares traded. 

Yesterday, Tenaga said net profit rose to RM2.31 billion in the third quarter ended May 31, 2016 (3QFY16) from RM789.4 million a year earlier. Revenue was higher at RM12.13 billion versus RM9.91 billion.

9MFY16 net profit rose to RM5.61 billion from RM5.3 billion a year earlier. Revenue was higher at RM33.29 billion compared to RM31.54 billion.

Today, CIMB Investment Bank Bhd analyst Saw Xiao Jun said Tenaga's 9MFY16 core net profit constituted 80% and 83% of CIMB's and consensus full-year forecast respectively. 

Tenaga's core net profit excludes foreign exchange translation losses, according to him. Saw said CIMB deemed Tenaga's results as "broadly in line". 

"Higher dividend payout is a key potential re-rating catalyst for the stock," Saw said.

He said CIMB upped its target price for Tenaga shares to RM17 from RM16.40 after raising its earnings per share (EPS) forecast for the company. Saw said CIMB raised its FY16 to FY18 Tenaga EPS forecast by 1% to 4%.