Hanoi (VNA) - PetroVietnam Power Corporation (PV Power) recorded aconsolidated net profit of 780 billion VND (34.2 million USD) in the firstquarter, a growth of 30.6 percent against the same period of last year.

Of this, the post-tax profit earned by the parent company was over 675 billionVND, up by 37 percent year-on-year.

PV Power reported consolidated revenue of 8.4 trillion VND during the period,up by 12 percent against last year, most of which came from sales ofelectricity worth 8.1 trillion VND, up by over 1 trillion VND compared to thefirst quarter of 2017 and accounting for 97 percent of the total revenue.

The cost of goods sold in the first quarter was 7 trillion VND, bringing thegross profit of the company to 1.35 trillion VND, corresponding to a grossprofit margin of 16.1 percent, which was significantly higher than 2017’sfigure of 14.8 percent.

During the period, PV Power conducted capital transfers generating profits of 3.9billion VND and paid dividends of 10.7 billion VND. The interest income paid bylender PVCombank was 287 million VND. However, its financial income still fellby 13 percent year-on-year to 68 billion VND due to the difference in exchangerate and lower deposit interest rates.

Other expenses, such as selling expenses and corporate management expenses, sawlittle change compared to the same period last year, reaching 4.1 billion VND and110.4 billion VND, respectively.

At the end of the first quarter, PV Power’s total assets reached 63.4 trillionVND, while its liabilities were 34.9 trillion VND.

According to Viet Capital Securities (VCSC), rising electricity demand in thesouth will ensure high capacity of 65-70 percent for PV Power. At present, allof PV Power’s gas-powered plants are in the south, which is suffering from asevere power shortage.

Electricity consumption in Dong Nai province and Mekong Delta is expected togrow by 11.5 percent and 13.8 percent per year, respectively, during 2016-20.Electricity consumption in the north-central region, where the Vung Tau 1 coalplant is located, is also expected to grow by 11.1-14.8 percent per year.

At the end of April, the Prime Minister approved PV Power to invest in the NhonTrach 3 and Nhon Trach 4 thermal power plants, which will increase its totalcapacity by 1.5GW. If PV Power is approved to build Kien Giang 1 and 2 plants,it will increase its capacity by 71 percent by 2023. Other power plants, suchas Son My and Mien Trung, will also help increase PV Power’s capacity by 52percent, and these new plants will provide an additional growth momentum for PVPower in future.

VCSC predicts that PV Power’s after-tax profit in 2018 will grow by nearly 13percent due to the strong recovery of Nhon Trach 1 and Nhon Trach 2 powerplants after reparation and the 19 percent hike in pre-tax profit of Ca MauPower Plant after maintenance.

PV Power’s shares (with code POW) are being traded around 14,400 VND (63 UScents) per share on the Unlisted Public Company Market.-VNA