KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 13): Gas Malaysia Bhd saw its net profit fall 31.1% to RM33.68 million or 2.62 sen a share for the second quarter ended June 30, 2015 (2QFY15) from RM48.91 million or 3.81 sen a share a year ago, mainly due to tariff revisions in May and November 2014 resulting in lower gross profit.

However, revenue for 2QFY15 rose 17.3% to RM795.01 million from RM677.99 million in 2QFY14, thanks to higher volume of gas sold and the upward revision of natural gas tariff. 

Gas Malaysia declared a first interim dividend of 3.5 sen per share amounting to RM44.94 million for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2015 (FY15), payable on Sept 15.

The weak 2QFY15 earnings, meanwhile, dragged net profit for the six months period ended June 30 (1HFY15) lower to RM62.17 million or 4.84 sen a share, down 31.3% from RM90.51 million or 7.05 sen a share in 1HFY14.  

Revenue, however, rose 23.7% to RM1.56 billion from RM1.26 billion a year ago.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia today, Gas Malaysia said it sees revenue growth for FY15 to be primarily driven by the increase in volume of gas sold and number of customers, and revisions in gas tariff.

"The board anticipates the increase in gas volume and number of customers to sustain in FY5. The profitability of the group for FY15 is expected to be in tandem with the level reflecting the prevailing tariff setting mechanism framework," it added.

Shares of Gas Malaysia (fundamental: 2.1; valuation: 1.1) closed 19 sen or 9.85% higher at RM2.12 today, giving it a market capitalisation of RM2.72 billion.

(Note: The Edge Research's fundamental score reflects a company's profitability and balance sheet strength, calculated based on historical numbers. The valuation score determines if a stock is attractively valued or not, also based on historical numbers. A score of 3 suggests strong fundamentals and attractive valuations.)