Power companies report robust Q3 profit

Eighteen out of 24 power companies listed on Vietnam's two major bourses recorded a profit growth year-on-year in the third quarter.

Specifically, at the top is Mien Trung PID JSC (Hanoi Stock Exchange- HNX: SEB) with after-tax profit in Q3 of VND31.3 billion ($1.26 million), 107 times year-on-year.

Nuoc Trong Hydro-Power JSC (HNX: NTH) ranked second with an after-tax profit of VND10.4 billion ($419,000), 22.6 times compared to the period last year.

Including SEB and NTH, The Investor data shows that 12 out of 23 power companies recorded net profit growth exceeding 100%.

Besides, many companies simultaneously reported net profit while Q3/2021 recorded negative results.

For instance, Vinh Son-Song Hinh Hydropower JSC (Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange-HoSE: VSH) reaped an after-tax profit of VND220.6 billion ($8.87 million), while its loss in the same period last year was VND42 billion ($1.69 million).

Pha Lai Thermal Power JSC (HoSE: PPC) recorded a net after-tax profit of VND155 billion ($6.23 million), while in Q3/2021 it reported a loss of VND35.4 billion ($1.42 million).

In the opposite direction, Truong Thinh Energy Investment JSC (HoSE: TTE) is a rare case with a loss of VND11.6 billion ($466,600), up nearly 25% year-on-year.

In addition, four out of 23 businesses had a decline in profit in Q3/2022 compared to the same period last year: Khanh Hoa Power JSC (HoSE: KHP, -40.05%), Power Generation JSC 3 (HoSE: PGV, -65.07%), PetroVietnam Power Corporation (HoSE: POW, -66.63%), and Ninh Binh Thermal Power JSC (HNX: NBP, -94.12%).

Top broker SSI Research said that nationwide electricity demand recorded a growth of 14.7% year-on-year in August 2022 and 6.5% year-on-year in the first eight months of this year, much higher than growth of 3.8% in the first half of the year.

Power demand growth in August reflects a low comparative base of the same period last year and is also led by the 15.6% growth in the index of industrial production (IIP) in the month.

SSI forecasts that nationwide electricity demand in 2022 may increase by 8%.

The company comments that electricity prices in the competitive generation market (CGM) may remain high compared to the same period last year. CGM price in August is estimated at about VND1,390 per kwh, up 4% month-on-month and 39% year-on-year. CGM prices in the first eight months were VND1,427 per kwh, up 35% year-on-year.

With the increase in input coal prices for coal-fired thermal power plants and the continued recovery of electricity demand across the country, CGM prices can maintain August's levels for the next four months and full-year average CGM prices in 2022 may reach VND1,400 per kwh, up 41% year-on-year, according to the broker.