KEY POINTS:
Electricity and gas distributor Vector expects an increase in full-year operating profit of around 4 per cent.
The company said yesterday it expected earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation for the year ending June 30 to sit "comfortably within or above" analysts' forecasts of around $632 million to $642 million. That compares with $610 million for the year to June 2007.
Net earnings were expected to be between $150 million and $165 million.
For the nine months ending March 31, the company experienced a 0.7 per cent increase in electricity volumes due to a 1.2 per cent increase in customer numbers. But the increase was still 1.1 per cent below expectations, as reduced economic activity and warmer weather affected demand.
Concerns over supply over the winter months and the effect of energy-saving campaigns could impact on volumes, the company said. Gas transmission volumes were up 17 per cent against the previous corresponding period, primarily due to power station and large industrial demand.
Warmer temperatures, however, led to a 4.2 per cent fall in gas distribution, while an absence of large one-off sales to the petrochemical sector saw a 16.6 per cent decline in natural gas sales volumes.
Total gas liquid (LPG and natural gasoline) sales volumes have decreased against the previous corresponding period by 9.5 per cent to 72,877 tonnes, due to reduced production from the Kapuni field.
Liquigas throughput increased by 13.9 per cent to 97,121 tonnes against the same period last year due to increases in imported volumes to offset reduced production at Kapuni, Waihapa and Rimu.
The company said its metering business continued to perform in line with expectations following the restructuring.
The joint venture is working on opportunities to provide smart metering solutions to the New Zealand and Australian market.
