Government funding helped Eskom post a 22% increase in net profit for the six months ended 30 September 2015.<\/p>\n
Eskom CEO Brian Molefe said the entity\u2019s profit increased R11.3bn, while achieving a 9% increase in Ebitda (Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) to R24.9bn<\/p>\n
Revenue increased by 8%, while primary energy costs went up by 7.7%, he explained.<\/p>\n
Molefe said Eskom received the first tranche of R10bn of government equity injection, while R13bn is expected in March 2016.<\/p>\n
R60bn in government loans was converted to equity, while R46bn of the R55bn funding for the year was secured, which improved the liquidity position, said Molefe.<\/p>\n
\u201cOperating expenses are under control,\u201d he said. \u201cMaintenance costs increased by 11.2% due to strategy to perform more planned maintenance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Molefe said payment agreements have been signed with 50 defaulting municipalities, including 15 of the top 20. Approximately 52% of the outstanding amount is within due date.<\/p>\n
He also said plant availability has improved to 74.4% as at November 16 2015 due to the positive impact of planned maintenance, says Brian Molefe.<\/p>\n
In the period under review Eskom has transformed the classic game Tetris into a planning tool to improve maintenance planning on its ageing power fleet, thus avoiding load shedding.<\/p>\n