KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 27): Gas Malaysia Bhd (KL:GASMSIA) said on Tuesday that its second-quarter net profit rose 12.5% year-on-year (y-o-y) driven by higher natural gas sales, tolling fees, and joint venture contributions, partially offset by lower natural gas margins and higher finance costs.

Its net profit for the quarter ended June 30, 2024 (2QFY2024) rose to RM110 million — its highest quarterly earnings since the company was listed on Bursa Malaysia 12 years ago — from RM97.8 million in 2QFY2023.

Earnings per share improved to 8.57 sen from 7.62 sen previously, its bourse filing showed. Quarterly revenue, however, dipped a slight 1.8% to RM1.98 billion from RM2.02 billion due to the lower average natural gas selling prices.

Gas Malaysia has proposed a first interim dividend of 6.31 sen per share, amounting to RM81 million, to be paid on Oct 25.

For the six months ended June 30, 2024, Gas Malaysia's net profit rose 10.3% y-o-y to RM212.7 million from RM192.9 million, despite a 13.5% y-o-y decline in revenue to RM3.86 billion from RM4.46 billion.

Looking ahead, Gas Malaysia said it will continue to implement prudent measures to maintain operational efficiency and remain competitive while exploring opportunities for business growth.

"With these measures in place, the board expects the group to deliver a satisfactory performance for the financial year 2024, in line with the expected domestic economic growth," the company noted.

At Tuesday's market close, shares in Gas Malaysia fell by two sen or 0.6% to RM3.61, giving the company a market capitalisation of RM4.64 billion. Year to date, the stock has risen by over 18%.