The Sydney Morning Herald
22 May 2008
SP AusNet, the Australian electricity and natural gas distributor majority owned by Singapore Power, said full-year profit fell 12% because of costs related to a failed acquisition.
Net income dropped to $157.5 million in the year ended March 31 from $178.3 million a year earlier, SP AusNet said today. Sales rose 3.5% to $1.06 billion, buoyed by higher tariffs and increased customers.
SP AusNet in December scrapped a proposal to buy $8.3 billion of Australian gas and power lines from its parent amid opposition from some shareholders. The failed transaction resulted in $17.2 million of after-tax costs. Increased interest charges mean that profit in 2008-09 will probably be "in line'' with the previous year, the company said today.
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