UMEME to release financial report for 2017

Uganda’s electricity distributor, UMEME says it will release its financial report for 2017 tomorrow Thursday even as members of the board and management met President Yoweri Museveni yesterday to explain why the company still has 17 percent technical losses in its books of accounts.
UMEME already presented its interim financial statements for the six months period ended 30 June 2017 highlighting the operational and financial performance.
The interim showed UMEME had reduced distribution losses reduced to 17.5 per cent in the six months to 30 June 2017, down from the 19 per cent achieved during 2016. The report says company achieved the reduction through the sustained efforts. But Museveni says Ugandans are paying high electricity tariffs because of technical losses he says the planned US $500 investment in related infrastructure should have eliminated such losses by now.
The interim report says revenue collection rate for the period averaged 99.9 per cent, up from the 98.4 per cent performance at 31 December 2016. The very good collection rate was achieved through continued investment in automated meter reading for our large power users, pre-payment metering for domestic connections and various collection campaigns to recover outstanding bills.
Shs99.1 billion (US $ 27.5million) was invested in the distribution network during the period.
Revenue grew by 6.9 per cent year-on-year to Shs704.4 billion in six months of 2017, driven by 6.7 per cent increase in units sold (GWh) and price adjustments. Electricity sales growth has been high in large industrial and domestic household consumers.
The interim report Gross Profit increased marginally at 2.6 per cent as cost of sales increased by 9.0 per cent influenced by a 9.6 per cent year-on-year increase in power purchase costs. Units purchased increased by 4.5 per cent to GWh 1,630.70. The gross profit was significantly affected by the capital investments excluded from the tariffs at the start of the year.
Dividends The Directors did not recommend the payment of an interim dividend to shareholders as it made after tax loss of Sh47.5 billion for the first six months ended in June 2017. Shareholders (investors), numbering over 5000, are waiting to see if they will get dividends when the full report is read.
Umeme is operating a 20-year Concession to distribute and supply electricity, until 1st March 2025 and confirms that it has seven (7) years left under the existing Concession.