Revenue from renewable energy drives BGRIM’s strong Q2 performance
B.Grimm Power Plc (BGRIM) recorded a profit upsurge in the second quarter, boosted largely by new revenue streams from renewal energy ventures in Vietnam and Laos.
The leading Thai private power producer’s net profit attributable to major shareholders for April-June soared 191% over the same period last year to 626 million baht on revenue of 10,866 million baht, up 23.4%.
In June BGRIM began to realise additional revenue coming from three newly-launched renewal energy schemes namely Dau Tieng 1-2 and Phu Yen TTP, both are solar photovoltaic projects with a combined installed capacity of 677 megawatt (MW) in Vietnam, and the 15–MW Nam Che 1 hydropower plant in Laos.
BGRIM also started to capture full revenue deriving from the 124-MW SPP1 co-generation facility in Rayong which the company acquired from Glow Energy Plc in March this year.
Meanwhile, the increase in electricity charges contributed to BGRIM’s improved bottom line at the time the average natural gas price per unit dropped by 2.4% from previous quarter, the variable FT power rates remaining constant and efficiency of the SPP projects improved.
“The second-quarter results are very much in line with our expectation and reflect our sustainable growth,” said BGRIM CEO Preeyanart Soontornwata.
Net profit attributable to major shareholders was 626 million baht.
However, excluding unrealised exchange gain and non-recurring items, BGRIM reported an operating profit of 886 million baht in the second quarter, with income attributable to major shareholders being 557 million baht, an increase of 25.7% from the previous quarter.
BGRIM’s combined installed capacity in the second quarter rose by almost 1 GW over the previous 12 months through the successful commercial operations of 12 power generation projects , raising total operating capacity to 2,892 MW.
Mrs Preeyanart stressed that Dau Tieng 1-2 solar project in Vietnam, with the 420-MW capacity which is the largest of its kind in Southeast Asia, and the 257-MW Phu Yen TTP – have not been affected by transmission line and grid connections problems in central Vietnam.
Both successfully went into commercial operation ahead of schedule and within the budget.
She pointed out that Dau Tieng 1-2 is located in Tay Ninh province in the southwest where transmission constraint is not an issue, while Phu Yen TTP has delivered its output to Electricity of Vietnam (EVN), the buyer, through the Tuy Hoa-Nha Trang 220-kilovolt grid which is ready to accommodate electricity transmission.
The power sales from two solar power projects to EVN, under a 20-year supply accord, at 9.35 US cents per kilowatt-hour, were amounted to 183 million baht in the second quarter.
Renewal energy to BGRIM’s overall generation portfolio has increased to 30% from 8% previously, while the proportion of production capacity from overseas projects has expanded to 25% from 2% earlier, underscoring BGRIM’s status as a leading power concern in this region.
The company is exploring for numerous investment opportunities both at home and abroad including South Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, the Philippines and Malaysia.
Mrs Preeyanart noted that the construction of Interchem industrial waste-to-energy scheme has progressed by 50.7% with works related to erection of pilling work and power grounding system are underway.
The Interchem facility has an installed capacity of 4.8 MW and is slated for commercial start-up in December this year.
Five of BGRIM’s projects under the Small Power Producer (SPP) schemes are eligible to build new power plants to replace those with power purchase agreement (PPA) targeting to COD by 2022. BGRIM will embrace new technology to take advantage of operation efficiency being rendered to continue providing high quality energy supplies to industrial users.
The CEO said these replacing SPP power plants in Thailand will be up and running in 2022 under the 25-year PPA.
BGRIM recently received an award for its outstanding practices in sustainable environment, social and corporate governance.
It was the second consecutive year that the company was awarded with the ESG 100 certificate from Thaipat Institute, the pioneer in the development of Thailand’s corporate sustainability database.
The award is a further testimony of BGRIM’s commitment towards professional operations which observe good corporate governance, being responsible to the economy, society, environment, while creating value for all stakeholders as the firm pursues stable and sustainable growth.
BGRIM’s Board of Directors approved the interim dividend payment of 0.15 baht per share, payable on September 10 to eligible shareholders appearing on registration dated August 28.
