Published: 2009/11/24 – The Star
PETALING JAYA: Water treatment services provider Puncak Niaga Holdings Bhd’s net profit rose 275% to RM46.74mil for the quarter ended Sept 30 compared with the previous corresponding period due to higher water revenue and tariff compensation from the Selangor government.
Revenue grew 39.24% to RM494.17mil from a year ago. The company said the increase in net profit and revenue was mainly due to higher water revenue and the water tariff compensation receivable from the Selangor government for the first through the third quarters of the year.
It said this was provided for under the terms of a concession agreement between its 70%-owned subsidiary Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Bhd (Syabas) and the Federal and Selangor governments.
Puncak Niaga recently announced that it was bidding for a project together with India’s P&C Constructions (P) Ltd for a project called for by the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board.
The joint venture, which would be unincorporated, would see the company holding a 60% stake with the balance under P&C.
Puncak Niaga’s subsidiaries Syabas and Puncak Niaga Sdn Bhd together with other water concessionaires in Selangor were the subject of a takeover bid by the Selangor government worth RM9.21bil in its drive to consolidate the fragmented water industry in the state.
The Selangor government has since aborted the plan to consolidate the water assets in the state after several attempts since June.
The other water concessionaires involved were Syarikat Pengeluar Air Sungai Selangor Sdn Bhd (SPLASH) and Konsortium Abass Sdn Bhd.
The Selangor government had hoped to consolidate the water infrastructure assets in the state before handling over the assets to Pengurusan Aset Air Bhd (PAAB), a vehicle of the Ministry of Finance Inc tasked with acquiring all the water assets in the country.
Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim had put forward a price tag of RM11bil to PAAB for the stakes in the various water concessionaires plus the water infrastructure it owns.