Ceylon Electricity Board records Rs.34.35bn profit in 2Q24

State-run Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) recorded a profit of Rs.34.35 billion for the quarter ended June 2024, which is a 24.4 percent increase from the corresponding period of the previous year.

For the first half of the year (1H24), the group recorded a profit of Rs.122.78 billion. In the corresponding period in 2023, the group recorded a loss of Rs.7.75 billion.

Revenue for the quarter under review witnessed a drop of 43.5 percent year-on-year to Rs.149.2 billion, from Rs.263.9 billion recorded in the corresponding period. This is due to the reduction in electricity tariff after the series of hikes that took place since August 2022.

Meanwhile, Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera took to X (formerly Twitter) to share that the net profit of Rs.93 billion by June 2024 was utilised to pay the outstanding amounts to the renewable energy developers, thermal power plants, coal procurement, local suppliers, dues to major projects, rooftop solar and short-term banking facilities. 

“The electricity consumer tariffs have been revised and reduced considering the other profits after settlement of payments,” Wijesekera said.

In the March quarter, the CEB recorded a profit of Rs.88.3 billion, which is a 349.8 percent change when compared with the Rs.35.3 billion loss recorded in the corresponding period in 2023. The entity generated revenue of Rs.179 billion in 1Q24.