NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 29 – Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) profit after tax dropped by 9.2 percent to Sh2.9 billion in the six months to December last year, weighed down by increased tax expenses and foreign exchange losses.
This was a decline from the Sh3.3 billion net profit that was realized during a similar period in 2022.
In the period, the power producer says that tax expenses went up by 25.7 percent, from Sh1.48 billion to Sh1.8 billion.
Similarly, the energy firm’s operating costs grew by 16.4 percent on higher plant operating and maintenance costs, stemming from global macro-economic pressure.
Improved hydrology and heightened plant efficiency, however, boosted net revenue to Sh24.7 billion, an 8.4 percent jump.
“The operational environment for the aforementioned period was characterized by heavy rainfall that led to an increase in water levels within our hydro dams thus boosting hydro-generation by a remarkable 7%,” KenGen Managing Director and CEO Peter Njenga said.
“This substantial boost in hydro-generation played a key role in mitigating the high fuel costs associated with thermal generation, which saw a commendable dip of 3.5%,” he added.
KenGen maintains a positive outlook, underscoring the escalating national demand for clean electric energy, including the rehabilitation of the Olkaria I geothermal power plant, which KenGen says is well on schedule.
At the same time, it says its Olkaria uprating project, which aims to increase the combined capacity of two geothermal power plants from 300 megawatts (MW) to 340 MW, is expected to be completed by December 2026.
