Eskom Heads Deeper Into Financial Crisis With Record Loss
- South African utility expects loss to exceed 15 billion rand
- Pressure mounts on government to bail out debt-ridden Eskom
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Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd., South Africa’s struggling power utility, expects to report a loss of more than 15 billion rand ($1.1 billion) in the year to March 31, a record for any state company.
The anticipated loss, revealed by Chief Financial Officer Calib Cassim at a tariff application hearing in Cape Town on Monday, will exacerbate Eskom’s already dire financial position -- it is saddled with 419 billion rand of debt -- and increase pressure on the government to help bail it out. The utility has said its situation is unsustainable and suggested the state take some of its debt onto its own balance sheet, an option not favored by President Cyril Ramaphosa.