PMB Tech gets more energy to power expansion
20 Dec 2021
PMB Technology Bhd has secured an additional supply of 25-megawatt (MW) electricity from Syarikat Sesco Bhd to power the production expansion of its metallic silicon plant in Samalaju Industrial Park in Bintulu, Sarawak.
Its wholly-owned subsidiary PMB Silicon Sdn Bhd entered into a legally binding term sheet with SESCo last week, which would be formalised with an agreement later to revise the amended and restated power purchase agreement to, inter alia, increase the existing supply of electricity at its metallic silicon plant from 104MW to 129MW.
PMB Tech said the additional electricity supply is due to an expansion of operations at the silicon facility.
PMB Tech is an associate of Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd, which is South-East Asia’s largest integrated aluminium producer. PMB Tech diversified into the manufacturing of metallic silicon with an investment of some RM320mil in Phase 1 of the plant with an annual production capacity of 36,000 tonnes in 2018.
Metallic silicon, according to the company, is a vital raw material with a compounded annual growth of 4% globally.
PMB Tech’s earnings have received a major boost this year, thanks to the strong metallic silicon prices. In the first nine months to September 2021, PMB Tech’s group net profit soared to RM45.5mil from RM11.8mil a year ago, as revenue climbed to RM542.8mil from RM409mil.
According to CEO Koon Poh Ming, the price of metallic silicon has risen to a record high, as the commodity market has reacted positively to the fast recovery of the world economy from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
He said the surge in the metallic silicon price was primarily caused by the initiative of the Chinese government to cut back on the power supply as well as tightening of environmental control in China.
However, the company expects the record high metallic silicon price to correct by itself and stabilise in the near future.
With the recent encouraging commodities market, Koon said the group is expected to benefit from the positive movement in the price of metallic silicon after offsetting higher logistics, raw material and operating cost.
He said the group’s other aluminium businesses are gradually moving into the positive position.
The group is into manufacturing of aluminium access equipment, marketing and trading of other related products while its construction and fabrication segment is involved in contracting, designing and fabrication of aluminium curtain wall, cladding system and system formwork.
Source: The Star
