KenGen posts flat net earnings at Sh4.12 billion

State-owned electricity producer KenGen #ticker:KEGN on Thursday announced flat growth in net profit for the six months ended last December on stagnant growth in revenue.

The firm, publicly-traded on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), said profit after tax hit Sh4.124 billion in July-December 2018, a 0.7 per cent rise over the same period a year earlier.

KenGen’s gross earnings fell by Sh138 million, or 0.62 percent, to Sh22.19 billion compared with Sh22.32 billion it posted 12 months earlier.

Income from electricity sales grew 3.16 percent to Sh15.04 billion, from Sh14.58 billion previously, despite a 16.37 percent rise in the number of power units to 4,451GWh from 3,825GWh.

Electricity generated from hydro plants shot up 53 percent to 2,197 gigawatt-hours (GWh) in the period due to heavy rain in the first half of 2018 which filled most of KenGen’s reservoirs, earning it Sh4.41 billion compared with Sh4.10 billion previously.

Revenue from geothermal plants was flat, rising by 0.64 percent to Sh8.58 billion after sales dropped 0.3 percent to 1,901 GWh.

The company’s earnings from steam sales fell to Sh2.94 billion from Sh3.15 billion, while those from fuel charge also dipped to Sh4.1 billion from Sh4.52 billion.

“Some wellhead units underwent major maintenance which affected steam revenue performance,” managing director Rebecca Miano said in a statement.

“At the same time, improved dispatch from hydro generation displaced dispatch from thermal plants leading to a decline of nine percent in fuel charge.”

Shareholders will go without an interim dividend payout. Operating costs rose by Sh332 million, or 7.14 percent, to Sh4.98 billion attributable to “plant operating and maintenance costs...”