Power Assets shares surge 10.6pc on special dividend payment
Chairman Canning Fok Kin-ning said group maintains strong cash position
Li Ka-shing’s multinational Power Assets Group surged 10.6 per cent to HK$75.40 on Friday, in its biggest gain since at least July 1997, after reporting a share dividend payment of HK$8.27.
That payment comprises a HK$0.77 per interim dividend and a HK$7.50 per share one-off special interim dividend to address shareholder expectations while keeping in view it’s financial capacity for future acquisitions, chairman Canning Fok Kin-ning said in a stock exchange filing after the market close on Thursday.
Power Assets – in which CKI Infrastructure holds a 39 per cent stake – said it’s profit attributable to equity shareholders was up 16 per cent to HK$4.02 billion (US$515 million) in the first half from a year earlier, while revenue was at HK$631 million compared to HK$629 million in the same period last year.
In the first half, the company acquired a 20 per cent stake in energy owner and operator Duet Group in Australia, with CK Infrastructure Holdings and Cheung Kong Property Holdings acquiring the remaining 80 per cent.
Last year, it earned 80 per cent of its profit from outside Hong Kong, mainly from the United Kingdom, Australia and mainland China.
It’s flagship operating company, HK Electric, has also entered into a new Scheme of Control Agreement with the government on the future regulatory regime which will start from January 1, 2019 and effective for 15 years, the company said.
The group will continue to maintain a strong cash position to stay poised to capture the right opportunities as and when they arise
Under the new scheme, HK Electric will help achieve the government’s target to cut carbon intensity by 65-70 per cent by 2030 compared to the 2005 level.
“The energy sector is undergoing rapid change across the world, with cleaner fuels, renewables and the fight against climate change emerging as important trends in the coming months,” Fok said.
“The group will continue to maintain a strong cash position to stay poised to capture the right opportunities as and when they arise.”
The jump in the energy and utility investor’s shares pushed up CKI Holdings by 5.9 per cent to HK$69.7. CKI, has diversified infrastructure investments in energy , transportation, water related businesses worldwide, said on Thursday that it sees it’s net income climb 3 per cent to HK$5.7 billion (HK$729.9 million) in the first half, which translates into HK$2.25 per share, outstripping consensus analyst estimates of HK$2.21 per share compiled by Bloomberg, while its turnover dipped 0.5 per cent to HK$14.0 billion.
