Kenya Power Swings to Record Profit as Strong Currency Cuts Debt
- Shilling has gained 21% against the dollar this year
- About 90% of utility’s debt is denominated in foreign currency
While Kenya Power’s electricity bills are in shillings, its purchase contracts are predominantly in foreign currency.
Photographer: Patrick Meinhardt/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Kenya Power and Lighting Co. posted a full-year profit thanks to a stronger local currency that softened its debt burden, sending the stock to a record high.
Almost 90% of the power utility’s debt is in foreign currency, meaning that a 21% appreciation of the shilling against the dollar this year helped Kenya Power to book 7.88 billion shillings ($61 million) of unrealized foreign-exchange gains in the year ended June 30 after loan revaluations.