By Our Reporter
Power utility company Umeme has registered a 19.5% fall in net profit in the six months to June 2016 to Ushs 54.5 billion from Ushs 67.7 billion in the same period last year. This performance was attributed to higher financing costs and a normalized tax rate.
Revenues were higher by 20.3% to Ushs 658.7 billion from Ushs 547.6 billion previously due to investments made in the network coupled with increased power sales. Cost of sales rose to Ushs 446.3 billion from Ushs 347.1 billion in the same period last year.
The company made Ushs 110 billion worth of capital investments in the first 6 months of the year according to the published announcement.
Repair and maintenance along with administrative expenses fell to Ushs 8.2 billion and Ushs 75.3 billion respectively. Foreign exchange losses on the other hand increased by 22.5% to Ushs 909 million from Ushs 742 million in the period under review.
Finance income advanced from Ushs 10.6 billion to Ushs 13.1 billion. As a result, finance costs were up 25.7% to Ushs 32.5 billion.
The company’s performance against regulatory targets was largely flat with energy losses at 19.2% from 19.1% in 2015 and revenue collection at 98.4% from 100.4%.
Total assets improved by 6.1% from Ushs 1.8 trillion at the end of last year to 1.9 trillion in the first half of 2016. Total liabilities were up 6.9% to Ushs 1.4 trillion from Ushs 1.3 trillion at the end of 2015.
Shareholders’ equity appreciated marginally by 3.9% to Ushs 523.2 billion compared to Ushs 503.8 billion in the 12-month period to December 2015.
Net cash generated from operating activities shrank to Ushs 39.9 billion from Ushs 114.4 billion in the same period last year as a result of working capital movements along with reductions in amounts due to suppliers and staff rewards.
An interim dividend of Ushs 11 per share has been recommended which is slightly higher from Ushs 10.8 paid for in the same period last year. This dividend will be paid on 19th December 2016 to shareholders on the company’s register as at 2nd December 2016.