KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 21): Public Investment Bank has kept its 'buy’ recommendation on Malakoff Corporation Bhd with an unchanged target price of RM1.02, backed by positive earnings outlook.

“We expect earnings to improve owing to better performance from Tanjung Bin Energy (TBE) coal plant and higher contribution from its investment in Shuaibah (Saudi Arabia) following the recognition of additional 12 per cent equity interest subsequent to the completion of the acquisition in September 2019,” it said.

At 9.57 am, Malakoff's share on Bursa Malaysia gained one sen to 89.5 sen with 2.34 million shares changing hands.

The independent water and power producer yesterday announced its net profit for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2019, increased to RM94.49 million compared to RM83.50 million recorded in the same period last year.

However, revenue slipped 2.8 per cent to RM1.86 billion compared to RM1.91 billion previously, the group said in a filing to Bursa Malaysia.

It said the lower revenue was primarily due to lower energy payment recorded from TBE plant given the lower dispatch factor following the plant’s scheduled maintenance outage performed between Aug 24, 2019, and Oct 21, 2019.