Petronas Gas Bhd has reported a jump in pre-tax profit for first nine months ended Dec 31, 2010 to RM1.549 billion from RM966.287 million in the previous corresponding period.
Revenue rose to RM2.633 billion from RM2.419 billion, the company said in a filing to Bursa Malaysia Tuesday.
"The increase in profit was mainly due to higher revenue and lower cost of revenue," it said.
Commenting on the company's prospects, it said revenue from the new fee structure under the Gas Processing and Transmission Agreement (GPTA) was dependent on the volume of the gas processed at the gas processing plants as well as volume of gas delivered directly into the pipeline network.
"The performance based structure will continue to provide Petronas Gas with additional earnings potential which is dependent on the level of production of by-products and their prices.
"As internal gas consumption is provided by PETRONAS, Petronas Gas's exposure to fuel gas price fluctuation is eliminated," it said.
It added that the revised terms under the GPTA do not introduce new operating risks to Petronas Gas. It better defines the obligations of the parties to the GPTA, it said.
Meanwhile, it said prospects for the utilities business would depend on the pace of economic recovery and any variation in gas price would be reflected in the pricing to customers.
