KUALA LUMPUR (March 29): Ranhill Utilities Bhd booked its first quarterly net loss in two years with RM9.98 million for the quarter ended Dec 31, 2020, from a net profit of RM8.02 million a year ago, hit by lower earnings from its water supply segment, and changes in accounting treatment for its power purchase agreements (PPAs).

As a result, the group reported losses per share of 0.93 sen, from earnings per share of 0.75 sen previously.

Ranhill Utilities attributed the lower profit of water company Ranhill SAJ Sdn Bhd in Johor to higher upkeep, support for the fight against Covid-19, and supply discounts to customers in the B40 group, and recognition of non-recurring income net one-off expenses of approximately RM20 million.

The weaker performance was despite quarterly revenue rising 13.4% to RM355.77 million, from RM313.74 million.

For the full year ended Dec 31, 2020, Ranhill Utilities' net profit fell 44.45% to RM36.49 million, from RM65.69 million.

Full-year revenue, meanwhile, slid 4.7% to RM1.48 billion, from RM1.55 billion in the previous year, with lower water revenue and lower developer contribution from Ranhill SAJ, as well as reduction in power tariff upon full repayment of project loan under its PPA.

On prospects, Ranhill Utilities expressed optimism about securing more industrial water and wastewater treatment projects with an additional treatment capacity in Thailand, adding that it has formed a consortium to supply treated water to five regions in Indonesia.

It is also exploring opportunities to further expand its power segment portfolio, with unchanged target to own and operate 1GW of capacity from 380MW currently, and 3,000 million litres per day (MLD) of water and wastewater treatment capacity, from 2,456 MLD currently.

Shares of Ranhill Utilities eased half a sen or 0.6% to close at 83.5 sen today, valuing the utility company at RM895.9 million.