Malaysia's Tenaga says power demand to grow in 2010

Reuters - Tuesday, October 27

* Q4 net profit 164.3 mln rgt vs 282.9 mln rgt loss yr-ago

* FY net profit 917.9 mln rgt vs 2.2 bln rgt consensus

* Shares end up 0.2 pct higher at 8.48 rgt ahead of results

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 26 - Malaysia's biggest power producer Tenaga Nasional <TENA.KL> said it expected power usage to grow as it reported a return to net profit in the fourth quarter of a year that gave the company a huge loss.

State-owned Tenaga, which has a market value of $11 billion, posted a net profit of 164.3 million ringgit for June to August period, compared with a loss of 282.9 million ringgit a year ago.

However, full-year net profit fell 65 percent year-on-year to 917.9 million ringgit, which was far below the 2.2 billion ringgit estimate of 18 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Tenaga said its profit was mostly hit by forex translation losses of 1.2 billion ringgit for the year due to a weaker Malaysian currency against the U.S. dollar and Japanese yen.

"We have had to manage the combination of negative electricity demand growth, higher average coal prices, additional capacity payments and forex exposure," Tenaga Chairman Leo Moggie said.

The company said that while electricity contracted 2.6 percent for the full year, it grew 0.6 percent in the fourth quarter and would continue to expand.

"Demand for electricity will be positive in 2010 in the region of 3 percent," said Che Khalib Mohamad Noh, Tenaga's chief executive officer.

Che Khalib said the Bakun hydroelectric dam, in Sarawak, Borneo, was expected to be operational by 2011, at the latest.

Tenaga is part of a Malaysian consortium building a submarine transmission line for the 2,400-megawatt dam.

Tenaga shares closed up 0.2 percent at 8.48 ringgit on Monday, and have gained 35 percent this year, lagging the broader market's <.KLSE> 44 percent rise. (Reporting by Julie Goh and Loh Li Lian; editing by Karen Foster)