PETALING JAYA: YTL Power International Bhd
is in the race to build new gas-fired power plants in Malaysia amid rising power generation needs, says CGS International (CGSI) Research.
Post-briefing with the management, CGSI Research said YTL Power has submitted bids for new combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) capacities in Malaysia, having secured three gas turbine slots.
It is notable that orders for gas turbines – the core equipment in a CCGT power plant – have surged, with global wait times for large gas turbines now reportedly stretching between five and seven years.
Beyond Malaysia, YTL Power’s power generation business also extends to Singapore via YTL PowerSeraya.
The majority of its power plant assets sit on Jurong Island, of which currently 99% of the power generated comes from natural gas.
YTL PowerSeraya’s core power generation business has a licensed generation capacity of 3,100 megawatt (MW).
CGSI Research noted that the construction of YTL Power’s new 600MW CCGT plant in Singapore is progressing well and remains on track for completion by end-2027.
“The rebound in Singapore spark spreads to S$70-S$80/MWh in July 2026 versus an average S$45/MWh in the second quarter of 2026, could also provide upside to PowerSeraya earnings, though we maintain our forecasts for now as spread sustainability remains uncertain ahead the recontracting of a bulk of its volume in early-2027.”
In a separate note, RHB Research said YTL Power is on track to complete another 200MW data centre (DC) capacity at its Kulai DC park by June 2027 and is targeting to secure the tenants soon.
With the acquisition of the 145-acre land in Sedenak Tech Park announced earlier last week, RHB Research said the group could ramp up capacity by 400MW annually due to robust demand.
RHB Research values YTL Power’s DC business at RM33bil, on the basis of a 1.2 gigawatt (GW) capacity in Kulai. This translates to RM3.62 per share.
“Assuming YTL Power successfully ramps up the 1GW capacity in Sedenak within the same period, we estimate another RM2.90 upside (up 41%) to arrive at a bull-case fair value of RM9.90.”
Kenanga Research, on the other hand, valued the DC business at RM25.61bil for a total capacity of 1,158MW by the financial year of 2030 (FY30).
The valuation was derived by applying a 10% discount to Kenanga Research’s RM79mil per MW enterprise value assumption and a capital expenditure assumption of RM40mil per MW.
Commenting on earnings, the research house said YTL Power’s FY26 core net profit of RM2.1bil fell 31% year-on-year (y-o-y), with the expected earnings drag driven by PowerSeraya. However, the results are still within expectations.
Looking ahead, Kenanga Research said earnings are set to rebound as data centre capacity ramps up.
“Capacity is expected to expand from 150MW to 258MW by FY27, backed by a targeted annual rollout of 200MW each across the Kulai campus and the newly added Sedenak site. We raise our FY27 net profit forecast by 5% after fine-tuning data centre earnings post-FY26 results and updating housekeeping assumptions across other business units.”
