Kenya Power profit drops by 92 per cent

Kenya Power profit after tax fell by 92 per cent from Sh3.27b to Sh262m for the year ending June 2019.

The firm attributed the drop to increase in non-fuel power purchase costs from Sh52.795 billion to Sh70.878 billion.

Kenya power recorded a profit before tax of Sh334 million in the year ending June 2019 compared to Sh4.968 billion logged in a similar period the previous year.

The power company however reported a 17.8 per cent revenue growth by Sh16.994 billion from Sh95.435 billion in the previous year (ending June 2018) to Sh112.429 billion.

The rise is attributed to tariff reviews and increase unit sales owing to an expanding customer base.

The cost of fuel decreased by 22.5 per cent to 18.289 billion from Sh23.591 billion the previous year. Kenya power cites “improved energy mix following less utilization of expensive thermal plants during the year”.

Transmission and distribution costs dropped by 7.8 per cent from 44.541 billion in the previous year, to Sh41.045 billion.

Kenya Power also reported an increase in financial income from Sh100 million to Sh118 million. Financial costs however jumped by 46.4 per cent from Sh7.048 billion to Sh10.315 billion. The firm says this is due to “increased usage of short term borrowings to bridge cash flow shortfalls and unrealised foreign exchange losses”.