Tenaga Nasional Bhd, Malaysia’s biggest power producer, may report next year a full-year loss for the first time in more than a decade because of rising costs.
The company this month will post a second, straight quarterly loss as its rising fuel bill is hurting margins, Chief Executive Officer Che Khalib Mohamad Noh said yesterday in an interview. The Kuala Lumpur-based utility is scheduled to report fourth-quarter earnings and 2011 annual profit on Oct. 28.
Tenaga reported in July its first quarterly loss in almost three years of RM440.2 million after having to pay higher prices for oil and distillate as state oil company Petroliam Nasional Bhd cut supplies of low cost subsidized natural gas because of maintenance work.
Tenaga may have to borrow to fund operational expenses for the first time as its cash holdings are dwindling, Che Khalib said. “We have to incur an additional cost of RM400 million every month to use the alternative fuel,” Che Khalib Mohamad Noh said. “We are crying for help. If the situation isn’t resolved, Tenaga will report a loss in 2012.”
Tenaga shares were up 0.6 per cent at RM5.38 on the Malaysian stock exchange. They have retreated 20 per cent this year, underperforming the benchmark index’s 4.9 per cent decline. The company is third-worse performing stock this year on the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Index.
The utility is set to market its 4.85 billion Islamic bonds on Oct. 24 to finance the expansion of a coal-fired power plant in Perak, north of Kuala Lumpur, he said.
The company this month will post a second, straight quarterly loss as its rising fuel bill is hurting margins, Chief Executive Officer Che Khalib Mohamad Noh said yesterday in an interview. The Kuala Lumpur-based utility is scheduled to report fourth-quarter earnings and 2011 annual profit on Oct. 28.
Tenaga reported in July its first quarterly loss in almost three years of RM440.2 million after having to pay higher prices for oil and distillate as state oil company Petroliam Nasional Bhd cut supplies of low cost subsidized natural gas because of maintenance work.
Tenaga may have to borrow to fund operational expenses for the first time as its cash holdings are dwindling, Che Khalib said. “We have to incur an additional cost of RM400 million every month to use the alternative fuel,” Che Khalib Mohamad Noh said. “We are crying for help. If the situation isn’t resolved, Tenaga will report a loss in 2012.”
Tenaga shares were up 0.6 per cent at RM5.38 on the Malaysian stock exchange. They have retreated 20 per cent this year, underperforming the benchmark index’s 4.9 per cent decline. The company is third-worse performing stock this year on the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Index.
The utility is set to market its 4.85 billion Islamic bonds on Oct. 24 to finance the expansion of a coal-fired power plant in Perak, north of Kuala Lumpur, he said.
