CLP electricity sales down 3.8%

Blame it on lacklustre China sales.

In the first half of 2013, CLP Holding’s operating earnings were HK$3,896 million, comparable with HK$3,897 million from the same period in 2012. The Group’s total earnings, including one-off items, were HK$3,767 million, an increase of 12.2% from the corresponding period in the previous year.

Hong Kong electricity business remains the core of the Group’s activities. Business performance was stable during the first half of 2013. Operating earnings increased 5.5% to HK$3,417 million on higher average net fixed assets, compared to HK$3,240 million in the same period in 2012.

In the first six months of this year however, local sales of electricity decreased 1.5% over the same period last year. Sales to the Chinese mainland dropped 38.1% from last year primarily due to lower committed sales to the Guangdong Power Grid Corporation. Total electricity sales were down 3.8%.

"During the period, our Hong Kong business invested HK$3 billion in generation, transmission and distribution networks, as well as in customer services and support facilities," it said in a report.