SEC Q3 profit at SR 2.88 bn

The Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) has posted a 32 percent rise in third-quarter net profit, beating analyst forecasts. The utility attributed the net income of SR 2.88 billion to higher energy sales and limits on the sales tariff in a bourse statement. The performance also marked a strong rise in profits from the previous quarter in a sector with strong seasonal variation, Reuters reported. Four analysts polled by Reuters forecast the company would earn, on average, SR 2.27 billion in the three months to Sept. 30. The utility is working to restructure its operations pending further privatization of its operating units. Its results are highly seasonal due to the wide variation between summer and winter electricity demand in the Kingdom, Reuters added. The profit report came as South Korean contractor Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. said it had won a 3.5 trillion won ($ 3.15 billion) order from the SEC to build a thermal power plant. The contract will expire in January 2017, Hyundai said in a statement. Under the deal, Hyundai will build a 2,640- MW power plant at a location 20 km south of Jeddah and near the Red Sea by 2017, Hyundai said. The capacity of the plant is equivalent to five percent of the Kingdom’s total electricity supply, it said. From arabnews