RIYADH, 22 October — Saudi Electricity Co. (SEC) said yesterday it has rebounded from two loss-making quarters to post net profits of SR604.9 million ($161 million) in the first nine months of the year.
SEC incurred $182.9 million of losses in the first half of the year, but profits rose sharply in the third quarter to SR1.3 billion ($344.4 million), the company said in a statement.
Profits in the third quarter rose due to high power consumption during the hot summer months, it said.
SEC, a merger of 10 smaller loss-making regional electricity firms, was officially listed on the Saudi bourse last May as the largest firm, with more than 17 percent of total market capitalization of around $80 billion. Since then, the company has shed about 4.5 percent of its market value.
SEC boasted net profits of $207.7 million in 2001.
The Saudi electricity sector has been undergoing major restructuring with the establishment of SEC in 2000 seen as a prelude to privatization, and a new authority to regulate the interests of consumers, operators and investors.
Saudi Arabia in October 2000 hiked the average electricity tariff rates for residents from 8 halalas per kilowatt hour to 17 halalas per kilowatt hour.
Before the increase, the combined losses of the Saudi power sector reached 48 percent of total sales revenues and the total outstanding debt of the power sector reached $26 billion at the end of 1999.
Minister of Industry and Electricity Hashem Yamani said last year the power sector would require investments worth more than $90 billion until the year 2023, some $26 billion of it in the next five years.
