TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s Electric Power Development (J-Power) said on Thursday it has decided to sell its 50% stake in a U.S. gas-fired power company as part of a reshuffle of its assets portfolio to improve capital efficiency.
The Japanese utility will sell the stake, held by U.S. subsidiaries, in Tenaska Frontier Partners which operates an 830 megawatt (MW) gas-fired power station in Texas to investment fund ACR IV Frontier Holdings for $155 million.
J-Power expects to book $93 million in investment income upon the transfer, though it is unclear if this will be reflected in the current or next fiscal year, the company said.
In June, J-Power said it would divest its 50% stake in another U.S. gas-fired power generator, Green Country Energy, which operates a 795-MW gas power station in Oklahoma, selling it to Public Service Company of Oklahoma, a subsidiary of American Electric Power, for an undisclosed sum.
“Under the current mid-term management plan, we aim to shift our portfolio to renewable energy, and these are part of our efforts,” Executive Vice President Isshu Kurata told a news conference.
J-Power on Thursday reported a net profit of 48.34 billion yen for the April-September quarter, up 74% from a year earlier, driven by higher margins in its power generation business at home.
The company lifted its net profit forecast for the fiscal year to March 2025 by 52% to 64 billion yen, pointing to stronger gains in its thermal power business and a higher contribution from its stake in Australian coal mines due to firmer-than-anticipated coal prices.
(Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; editing by Jason Neely)
