Saturday, Jul 16, 2011
RIYADH (Zawya Dow Jones)--Saudi Electricity Co. (5110.SA), or SEC, the largest listed utility in the Gulf, said Saturday its second-quarter net profit rose 25% to 1.34 billion Saudi riyals ($356 million) from the year-earlier period, helped by higher power tariffs and an increase in the volume of energy sold.
Investment Bank NCB Capital had expected the utility to post a second-quarter net profit of SAR1.33 billion, while Cairo-based EFG-Hermes projected a net profit of SAR1.36 billion.
SEC, whose major shareholder is the Saudi government, typically posts losses in the cooler months and swings to profit during the intense heat of the summer.
First-half earnings per share came in at SAR0.13, compared with SAR0.7 a year earlier, while second-quarter operating profit rose to SAR1.25 billion from SAR975 million a year earlier, SEC said in a statement posted on the Saudi bourse website.
Saudi Arabia, which is struggling to supply uninterrupted electricity during a population boom and industrial expansion, expects SEC to invest $80 billion over the next 10 years to add 20,000 megawatts of power generation capacity.
Saudi Electricity will receive a SAR51.1 billion lifeline from its main shareholder, the Saudi government, to finance new projects. The firm has also mandated HSBC Holdings PLC (HBC) and Deutsche Bank (DB) for a potential U.S. dollar-denominated bond issue later this year aimed at raising funds to support its expansion plans, SEC Chief Executive Officer Ali Saleh Al Barrak said earlier this year.
The potential $1 billion-$1.5 billion bond issue will have a tentative tenor of 10 to 12 years, he added. SEC in 2010 raised SAR7 billion through a seven-year Islamic bond, or sukuk. It issued a five-year, SAR7 billion sukuk in 2009 and a five-year SAR5 billion issue in 2007.
-By Summer Said, Dow Jones Newswires; +966-546-842373; summer.said@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
16-07-11 0617GMT
