Kumpulan Powernet Bhd. said its first-quarter normalized net income amounted to a loss of 1 Malaysian sen per share, compared with a loss of 1 sen per share in the year-earlier period.

Normalized net income, which excludes unusual gains or losses on a pre- and after-tax basis, was a loss of 633,880 ringgits, compared with a loss of 643,000 ringgits in the prior-year period.

The normalized profit margin dropped to negative 48.0% from negative 37.1% in the year-earlier period.

Total revenue fell 23.8% on an annual basis to 1.3 million ringgits from 1.7 million ringgits, and total operating expenses decreased 15.5% from the prior-year period to 2.4 million ringgits from 2.8 million ringgits.

Reported net income totaled a loss of 1.0 million ringgits, or a loss of 2 sen per share, compared to a loss of 1.1 million ringgits, or a loss of 2 sen per share, in the year-earlier period.

As of May 19, US$1 was equivalent to 3.61 ringgits.