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Yangtze Power 2007 profit up 48.61%

(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-04-28 09:10

China Yangtze Power Co Ltd, operator of the Three Gorges hydropower dam, said its 2007 net profit rose 48.61 percent to 5.37 billion yuan ($765.99 million) due to higher power output and investment income.

The company said it generated 43.97 billion kWh of electricity last year, up 23.03 percent. About 15.46 billion kwh came from Gezhou Dam, up 5.69 percent, and 28.51 billion kwh from the Three Gorges complex, up 35.05 percent.

Operating revenue rose 23.92 percent to 8.74 billion yuan in 2007, while operating costs and other expenses were up 25.32 percent, according to its annual report filed with the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

It said investment income in 2007 rose to 2.1 million yuan from 870.03 million a year earlier after it sold 400 million H-shares in China Construction Bank (CCB).

In April 2007, China Yangtze Power signed an agreement to sell an additional 400 million H-shares in CCB to Hong Kong's Reca Investment Ltd for 1.6 billion yuan.

In addition, the company also received dividends of 366 million yuan in 2006 and the first half of 2007 from CCB.

At the end of last year, it held a 0.53 percent stake in CCB along with 0.29 percent of Air China, 0.03 percent of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and 0.01 percent of Bank of Communications, it said.

Earnings per share in 2007 stood at 0.604 yuan against 0.442 yuan the previous year.

Looking ahead, the company forecasts China's power demand to continue growing this year, adding that it has a generating target of 43.1 billion kwh of electricity in 2008.

It said power generation volume will be influenced by the water level in Yangtze River, and it will seek to diversify by buying provincial energy groups holding other types of assets, such as coal-fired power.

In February 2007, the company agreed to acquire a 45 percent stake in Hubei Energy Group for 3.1 billion yuan. In December, it also agreed to pay 2.85 billion yuan for 34 percent of Anhui Province Energy Group, parent of listed Anhui Wenergy Co Ltd.

In a separate statement, the company said its board has approved the issue of up to 6 billion yuan worth of medium-term debt on the interbank market to help fund operations.