Ceylon Electricity Board ends FY23 with massive profits

• Records Rs. 75 .5 bn profit for group, Rs. 61.2 bn for Board
• 4Q performance attributed to heavy rainfall
• Even without favourable weather conditions, CEB would have made profits amounting to Rs. 40 bn

The financial performance of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) is largely positive as it ended the financial year 2023 with a massive profit.
Unaudited interim financial statements filed to the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) showed Rs. 75.7 billion profits for the Group, and Rs. 61.2 billion for the Board.

The improvement in the financial performance is largely due to the increase in rainfall from September, and the hike in electricity tariff that came in the fourth quarter (4Q23). However, as per the statements, even without the heavy rainfalls which reduced its reliance on oil and coal-based generation, CEB would have still made profits of about Rs. 40 billion.
The Group posted revenue amounting to Rs. 679 billion for the financial year 2023, and recorded a gross profit of Rs. 132 billion.  The Group operating profit amounted to Rs. 143 billion.

The distribution costs were reduced by 13.7 percent, whereas other expenses dropped by 15.3 percent.
The finance income expanded by 29 percent, while the finance cost increased by 42. 8 percent.
Just last week, the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Alleviating the Impact of the Economic Crisis said that CEB has significantly overestimated the cost of electricity production and transmission for the year 2024. The overestimation is of about Rs. 140 billion.