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Shanghai Electric Power back in black

By Zhou Yan (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-04-10 16:36

Shanghai Electric Power Co Ltd, the city's largest power producer, expects to make a profit of 38 million yuan ($5.56 million) in the first quarter of this year, compared with a loss of 126 million yuan in the same period last year, fueled by falling domestic coal prices and the on-grid energy price hike, the company said in a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Friday.

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The coal-fired plant reported revenue of 9.26 billion yuan in 2008, up 18.92 percent from previous year, but slipped into a net loss of 1.5 billion yuan due to soaring coal prices.

The National Development and Reform Commission raised on-grid electricity tariffs by 0.02 yuan per kWh, or an average of 5 percent, twice in July and August of 2008 to offset power makers' losses.

Australian bank Macquarie Group cut its forecast for contract prices for hard coking coal by 21 percent this year to $110 per ton compared with $300 per ton in 2008.