KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 18): Malakoff Corp Bhd saw its second-quarter (2Q) net profit double on a year-on-year basis thanks to earnings from Alam Flora Sdn Bhd and a higher contribution from its Tanjung Bin power plant.

In a bourse filing, the group said net profit for the quarter ended June 30, 2020 stood at RM104.96 million, against the year-ago quarter's RM52.25 million.

Malakoff said earnings contributions came on stream for Alam Flora during the quarter.

There was also a higher contribution from Tanjung Bin Energy Sdn Bhd (TBE) following the shorter duration of plant outage and settlement agreement reached with Alstom Power Systems and GE Power Services (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd as a result of plant failure at TBE's plant from April 2017 to June 2019.

Malakoff said it also recognised higher contributions from associates such as the Shuibah Independent Water and Power Project.

Quarterly revenue declined 17.01% to RM1.51 billion from RM1.81 billion in the corresponding quarter last year, due to lower energy payments from Tanjung Bin Power Sdn Bhd and Segari Energy Ventures Sdn Bhd following coal price declines and lower despatch factor.

The decline was also down due to the absence of a contribution from Malakoff Australia Pty Ltd, which was disposed of in December last year, said Malakoff.

The group declared a dividend of 2.8 sen per share, payable on Oct 16.

For the cumulative first half of the year, Malokoff's net profit increased 62.79% to RM194.14 million, from RM119.25 million a year earlier. Half-year revenue declined 14.18% to RM3.28 billion from RM3.82 billion previously.

In a separate statement, chief executive officer Datuk Ahmad Fuaad Kenali said Malaysia's electricity demand is expected to fall 6% this year due to a drop in economic activities, especially among the industrial and commercial sectors.

"As an essential service provider, the group continues to focus on enhancing the operational efficiency of its plants, particularly with increased cost-saving measures in the wake of the challenges during the Movement Control Order period.

"In May 2020, to help reactivate the Malaysian economy adversely affected by the global pandemic, the government initiated competitive bidding for the fourth cycle of Large-Scale Solar (LSS4) in Peninsular Malaysia, with a total capacity of 1,000MW worth RM4 billion. Participation in LSS4 would allow the group the opportunity to expand its renewable energy (RE) capacity alongside progressing its other RE projects," he added.

Malakoff's share price finished 1.6% or 1.5 sen higher at 95.5 sen, valuing the company at RM4.78 billion. The counter saw 1.53 million shares traded.