This archive report was first published on 29 October 2021.
On October 29, 2021, Kenya Power and Lighting Company PLC (Kenya Power) announced a profit before tax of Kshs.8.2 billion for the period ending June 2021, marking a significant turnaround from a loss before tax of Kshs.7.04 billion in the previous year.
The strong performance was driven by growth in sales and revenue, as well as a double-digit reduction in costs and expenses. Unit sales for the year under review recorded a 5% growth from 8,171 GWh to 8,571 GWh, mainly driven by 716,206 new customer connections who contributed an additional 400 GWh, and a rebound of the economy from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Revenue recorded an 8.2% jump from Kshs.133.3 billion the previous year to Kshs.144.1 billion, mainly due to an expanded customer base and heightened revenue protection activities driven by increased field presence.
Commenting on the results, the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Vivienne Yeda, noted that the strong performance was a credible indicator that the turn-around strategy, rolled out the previous financial year, was on course. The strategy focuses on five core focus areas, namely improving customer experience, growing sales, enhancing revenue collection, enhancing system efficiency, and prudent cost management.
“As a Company, we are pleased with this set of results because it is a clear demonstration that the investments we have made in driving a strong performance by the core business lines are beginning to bear fruits. Having said that, we are cognisant of the fact that a lot more needs to be done to fully transform Kenya Power into a 21st century organisation,” said the Chairman.
Finance costs also registered a 27% reduction from Kshs.12.5 billion in FY2020/21 to Kshs.9 billion due to a decrease in interest on loans and overdrafts as a result of a Kshs.20.26 billion repayment of commercial loans which included the partial conversion of overdrafts into a term loan.
System losses, which had risen to 25.21% in the first half of the year, were reduced to 22.7% in the second half. This followed the deployment of a focused approach premised on the timely metering of customers, replacement of faulty meters, curbing electricity theft arising from meter by-passes and illegal connections, as well as the deployment of data analytics to identify and deal with electricity theft in the large power customer segment.
Overall system efficiency stood at 76.05% as at the end of June 2021. To further improve system efficiency, the Company is planning to increase the coverage of the Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) project, which presently covers 6,718 or 80% of large power customers to full coverage by the end of 2022.
