Shares in International Power slipped after the independent generator revealed that unplanned outages at its plants in Staffordshire and Australia will wipe £60m from full-year operating profits. A failure at its Rugeley coal-fired plant is expected to cost £45m in the second half, as the company will need to buy back forward-sold power contracts.
But chief financial officer Mark Williamson stressed that 'the fundamentals of our market remain attractive'. Underlying operating profits climbed 19 per cent to £495m as the European business reported a 12 per cent rise in operating profit to £299m. And North American profits swelled 81 per cent to £76m, thanks to higher margins at the Hays gas-fired plant in Texas, where hotter weather increased demand for power.
Asian operating profits dipped 24 per cent, though, after the sale of the group's Malaysian plant last year. Analysts also expressed concern over delayed payments from the Pakistani government, but the company stressed that part-payment had now been received. Meanwhile, the company announced last week that a new Indonesian plant should be operational by 2012.
Broker Cazenove has trimmed its full-year pre-tax profit forecast to £643m, with EPS of 28.5p.
| INTERNATIONAL POWER (IPR) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 402p | MARKET VALUE: | £6,059.8m | |
| TOUCH: | 401-402p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 494p | LOW: 360p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 2.72% | PE RATIO: | 20 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 193p* | NET DEBT: | 164% | |
| Half-year to 30 Jun | Turnover (£bn) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 0.71 | 158 | 13.1 | 2.77 |
| 2008 | 1.07 | -14.0 | -0.10 | 3.56 |
| % change | +50 | -109 | -101 | +29 |
Ex-div: 1 Oct Payment: 31 Oct *Includes intangible assets of £991m, or 34p a share | ||||
