KUALA LUMPUR (May 28): Tenaga Nasional Bhd reported today a 26% drop in first quarter net profit to RM1.56 billion from RM2.12 billion a year earlier mainly due to higher net loss on impairment of financial instruments and tax expense.

In a statement to Bursa Malaysia today, state-controlled utility Tenaga said revenue, however, rose to RM13.24 billion in the first quarter ended March 31, 2019 (1QFY19) from RM12.27 billion a year ago.

"This was mainly due to the increase in the group's sales of electricity of 7.8% from RM12.07 billion to RM13.01 billion compared with the last corresponding period," it added.

Looking ahead, Tenaga said its FY19 performance is expected to remain stable based on Malaysia's 2019 first quarter economic growth and the outlook for the year.

"On the economic outlook, the Malaysian economy growth was moderate at 4.5% in the first quarter 2019 (4Q 2018: 4.7%) driven mainly by the expansion in domestic demand. For 2019, growth in the Malaysian economy is expected to remain on a steady path supported by monetary measures by Bank Negara (Malaysia) and continued expansion in domestic demand.

"Given the aforementioned scenarios, the performance of the group is expected to remain stable for financial year 2019," Tenaga said.