Mercury rising

Mercury NZ lifted its first-half profit nearly 17%, mainly through record generation (up 9%) after plenty of rain in North Island hydro lakes.

The electricity generator and distributor says net profit increased to $132 million in the six months ended December 31 from $113 million six months prior. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and fair-value adjustments rose to a record $301 million from $270 million, the NZ Herald reports.

The company continues to invest in solar, battery storage and other customer-led home and transport technologies and continues to pursue growth, chief executive Fraser Whineray says.

“Electricity demand has been higher across all sectors except the industrial sector,” he says. “Drier weather conditions in many areas of the country contributed to increased demand from both dairy processing and irrigation relative to the prior period. This demand growth is supported by population growth in key regions offsetting per-household consumption decreases.”

Chairwoman Joan Withers say customer growth also continued, up 1000 to 393,000.

Operating costs rose $4 million to $59 million due to the completion of technology upgrade projects and the execution of geothermal maintenance plans.

The company declared an interim dividend of 6 cents per share to be paid on April 3, up 3.4% on the prior period.

Whineray says the company welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the government’s review into retail electricity pricing and looks forward to “constructive discussions”.