Under pressure power utility, Eskom has reported a surprisingly large profit for the year ended March 2015.<\/p>\n
“Eskom managed to deliver some good results in its business performance for the year despite the many challenges that the organisation is currently facing,” the company said.<\/p>\n
The net profit after tax for the group for the year was R3.6 billion, although down from a 2014 total of R7.1 billion.<\/p>\n
Revenue for the year improved to R147.7 billion, from R138.3 billion in 2014.<\/p>\n
Electricity revenue of R597 million, mostly for municipalities and Soweto, was not recognised as it was assessed that there is a high probability that the related economic benefits will not materialise, Eskom said.<\/p>\n
“Despite this, Eskom continues to actively pursue recovery of these amounts,” it said.<\/p>\n
Eskom said that its good financial performance was offset by the increase in primary energy cost to R83.4 billion, from R69.8 billion in 2014.<\/p>\n
Despite the pressure on the primary energy cost, the earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation was R25.2 billion (2014: R25.1 billion).<\/p>\n
Electricity sales of 216,274GWh declined by 1,629GWh or 0.7% from the previous year.<\/p>\n
“Down scaling of operations of some mines and industries and the prolonged labour unrest resulted in a negative impact on sales numbers.”<\/p>\n
The number of employees in the group – inclusive of fixed-term contractors – decreased from 46,919 in 2014 to 46,490 tin 2015.<\/p>\n
Some of the major challenges facing the organisation are financial and operational sustainability. NERSA\u2019s third Multi-Year Price Determination (MYPD) of an 8% tariff increase in response to Eskom\u2019s request of 16% resulted in significant pressure on the liquidity and going-concern status of Eskom, the group said.<\/p>\n
Eskom said it experienced a major challenge in managing the supply and demand of electricity. A total of 548GWh was lost due to load shedding which accounted for 0.3% of total sales.<\/p>\n
Looking ahead, Eskom said that there will be focus on accelerating the conversion of the Open-Cycle Gas Turbines (OCGTs) from diesel fuel to gas and diesel as fuel source.<\/p>\n
“Eskom needs space to execute philosophy-based preventative maintenance to improve plant performance while avoiding load shedding,” it said.<\/p>\n
The immediate focus will be on sustained maintenance and operational efficiency to reduce the unpredictable breakdowns in plant and in the medium- to long-term to commission new generation capacity to alleviate the constrained power supply system, Eskom said.<\/p>\n
Eskom cuts bonuses: report<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n