NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 1 – Kenya Power has posted Sh939mn in its 2020 loss after-tax, after taking into account a tax credit of Sh6.1 billion.
This is according to the firm’s Managing Director and CEO Bernard Ngugi who also blamed the poor performance to an increase in finance costs which rose by 21 percent to Sh12.48 billion.
Ngugi attributed the rise to an increase in unrealized foreign exchange losses owing to the depreciation of the Kenya Shilling.
During the period under review, transmission and distribution costs increased to Sh47.83 billion mainly due to an increase in provisions for trade and other receivables amounting to Sh3.27 billion.
The MD said that this was on the back of declined revenue collections during the height of the coronavirus pandemic.
The firm however noted an increase of its total revenue which amounted to Sh133.26 billion compared to Sh133.14 billion the previous year, representing a marginal increase of 0.09 percent.
“We began the year determined to improve the Company’s performance by implementing a turn-around strategy that is focused on; increasing sales, improving revenue collection, increasing system efficiency, managing costs and enhancing customer experience,” Ngugi said adding that the strategy seemed to bear fruit in the first half of the financial year.
During the first half, the Company’s profitability stood at Sh1.139 billion.
However, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the second half of the year affected demand thereby reducing sales which dropped by 0.04 percent to 8,171 GWh.
