Eskom Reports Second Consecutive Year of Profit with R30.3bn Net Income

South African power utility Eskom reported a profit after tax of R30.3bn for the financial year ending 31 March 2026, more than doubling the restated R14bn reported in the previous year. The utility attributed the increase to lower diesel expenditures, Treasury relief, and a 12.74 percent tariff increase. Specifically, spending on open cycle gas turbines fell from approximately R18bn to R7bn. A significant portion of the profit increase was also driven by a reduction in non cash accounting charges related to foreign exchange and fair value movements, which dropped from R10.5bn to about R1bn.

Despite the financial gains, Eskom faces new operational challenges. Electricity sales volumes fell by 6.2 percent, with industrial demand dropping by 22.5 percent due to energy efficiency gains, embedded self generation, and weak industrial demand. The utility now estimates a surplus generation capacity of between 2GW and 3GW. To combat this, Eskom is negotiating discounted tariffs with large industrial customers and seeking new demand from data centers and electric vehicle charging.

Financial pressures persist regarding municipal debt, which rose 17.9 percent to R111.6bn by the end of March and reached approximately R119bn by June. CFO Calib Cassim stated that the government's municipal debt relief programme has not delivered the intended results. While center leaning coverage focuses on whether the utility has finally turned a corner, center right leaning coverage emphasizes that weaker sales and municipal debt pose significant ongoing problems.