6 March 2002
The Chairman of the Eskom Electricity Council,
Members of the Council present here today,
The Chief Executive and management of Eskom,
Members of the media, and
Ladies and Gentlemen, I greet you all.
It is an honour for me to congratulate Eskom on the financial results attained in the 2001 financial year. After tax profits for the year was R2.56 billion, which is an increase of 22.5% over last year's profits which was R1.8 billion.
Sales growth was 1.8% together with the below inflation increase of 5.2% saw revenue increase by 6.7%. The strict financial control and sound management of costs enabled the company to compensate for the lower revenue and produce these sterling results. These financial results were achieved notwithstanding the fact that the revenue from power consumption was not as high as anticipated. I must also note that Eskom' s balance sheet continues to strengthen which is a good sign for the company's self-sustainability.
Not only has Eskom's financial performance been good during the period in question, but Eskom has also achieved electrification targets, reliability and availability of services, successfully contributed to Black Economic Empowerment by spending over R3 billion compared to the R1.9 billion spent in 2000 financial year. Eskom has achieved its targets on employment and gender equity, which most companies struggle to achieve. In addition to this, Eskom has complied with environmental policies and is continuously making superior technical innovations and ensuring that safety standards are adhered to, thus limiting number of accidents in the work place.
Having made these observations, these results bear testimony to the fact that Eskom continues to remain one of the leading and most efficient power producers in the world. I, therefore, wish to congratulate Eskom management and the Council for the ingenuity and effort, which led to the financial results celebrated today. This is particularly true when in any organization sustaining superior performance is difficult then merely maintaining a threshold.
I am particularly pleased with the Eskom Enterprises results since it is playing a significant role in the government's NEPAD strategy. Eskom Enterprises, which is Eskom's vehicle for venture into Africa, is spreading its light into the continent, and making its presence felt. It is in fact fast becoming the company of choice for service, technical support and expertise. Eskom Enterprises also released its annual results today and its results testify to this expansion.
I have recently commented on the future restructuring of Eskom. Global trends seem to indicate that the restructuring of any energy sector is complex exercise, and therefore, should be proceeded with cautiously and decisively, as such, we are clearly committed to introduce competition into the domestic market. In doing this, I wish to assure the Eskom consumers and Eskomites that this restructuring would be done in a manner that will continue to ensure Eskom's significant market position domestically, and that, Eskom will continue to remain the country's supplier of last resort.
It is further important to stress that the restructuring of Eskom would be preceded by a clear definition of the market rules by the National Energy Regulator.
Thank you,