KUALA LUMPUR (May 12): Gas Malaysia Bhd reported a 64.15% increase in its first quarter net profit ended March 31, 2022 (1QFY22) to RM91.32 million from RM55.63 million a year ago a year, thanks to higher gross profit, lower administrative costs and higher contribution from group joint ventures.
Earnings per share rose from 4.33 sen to 7.11 sen, according to the company’s filing with the local stock exchange.
Quarterly revenue also jumped 54.78% to RM1.78 billion from RM1.15 billion in the same quarter last year. This corresponds to the increase in the average selling price of natural gas in parallel with the world market price, mitigated by the fall in the volume of natural gas sold during the quarter under review.
“The further increase in revenue is also due to increased firm capacity reservations by shippers for use of the Natural Gas Distribution System (NGDS) in the current quarter,” Gas Malaysia said.
On a quarterly basis, Gas Malaysia’s net profit increased by 31.79% from RM69.29 million in 4QFY21. This is despite an 8.06% decline in revenue from RM1.94 billion previously, as higher administrative expenses and financial costs were reported in the quarter under review compared to the immediate prior quarter.
Looking ahead, Gas Malaysia said it will continue to take prudent measures to maintain operational efficiency, remain competitive and seek opportunities to expand its business in line with the country’s transition to Covid-19 endemicity.
The group’s board also expects Gas Malaysia to deliver a satisfactory performance for the 2022 financial year in line with the expected economic growth.
As of Thursday’s (May 12) market close, Gas Malaysia was down one sen or 0.36% at RM2.75, valuing the group at RM3.53 billion.
