Utilities provider posts 42.1% profit fall to HK$3.35b in first six months

Local utilities provider CLP Holdings Ltd said it will continue to develop and build its renewable energy portfolios on the mainland which made a 13 percent profit contribution to the group in the first half of 2012.

CLP announced that the group's interim net profit in the first six months tumbled 42.1 percent to HK$3.35 billion due to reduced earnings from Australia and India, while results from Hong Kong and on the mainland were steady.

The company said its operating earnings from its Australian electricity generation and electricity and gas retail business during the six months of 2012 was HK$268 million, compared with HK$1.19 billion in the same period last year.

This was due to unfavorable mark to-market movements of energy contracts due to hedging activities. Regarding its India business, the company said it registered a loss of HK$19 million in the first half of the year, compared to a profit of HK$183 million the previous corresponding period in 2011.

The group's consolidated revenue rose by 13.5 percent to HK$46.15 billion. Directors recommended a second interim dividend of HK$0.53 a share, making a total interim dividend of HK$1.06 per share, representing a 2 percent increase from a year earlier. Of the different geographical segments, Hong Kong's contribution to group net profit rose just marginally by 2 percent while the mainland market's profit contribution to the group jumped 13 percent to HK$393 million from the HK$349 million a year ago due to tariff increases and lower coal prices.

The group's operations in Southeast Asia and Taiwan recorded a 160 percent surge due to a lower comparison base.

"CLP will continue to develop and build our renewable energy portfolios on the mainland with a focus on wholly-owned wind, small/medium hydro as well as nuclear power projects," said CLP Power Hong Kong Ltd Vice-Chairman Betty Yuen at the Tuesday press conference.

Regarding the group's future expansion of its renewable energy business on the mainland, Yuen said CLP is waiting for approval from the mainland's regulatory authority for its investment in a 17 percent equity share in the Yangjiang Nuclear Power Station project in Guangdong to start nuclear power supply to the province in South China. Moreover, the group is also waiting for the final approval from the National Development and Reform Commission to move forward the Fangchenggang Phase II in Guangxi using imported coal to supply an additional 1,320 MW on the same site.

oswald@chinadailyhk.com

(HK Edition 08/15/2012 page2)