MELBOURNE BASED Australian power generator Pacific Hydro has increased its after tax profit by 19% to US$17.3M due to increased generation.

The bottom line was up due to first full-year earnings from the 70MW Bakun hydro project in the Philippines, the contribution from the Codrington wind farm and better results from the Victorian and Ord river hydro projects.

The company said it expects ‘significant growth’ in 2003-04 due to its new windfarm projects, and two foreign hydro projects – the boosting of the capacity at Bakun and the development of a 240MW run-of-river project in Chile.

A water-rights agreement was signed early this year for the Chilean project proposed on the Tinguirrica river in the Andes, 150km south of Santiago. The plant to be fed by a melting glacier would have a capacity of 270MW, and produce about 1600GW of power annually.