Eskom has reported R16-billion in profit after tax for 2025 — for the first time in eight years. That compares to a R55-billion after-tax loss for the 2024 financial year.
Board chairman Mteto Nyati told reporters on Tuesday that Eskom’s two-year debt relief plan, adopted in 2023, had started showing results.
Ntayi said there were 329 days of load shedding in the 2024 financial year, and just 13 days in the 2025 reporting period.
Eskom CEO Dan Marokane said the dramatic improvement in performance was driven by savings in primary energy costs; a 3.5% increase in sales because of generation performance; the generation primary mix being much more favourable than relying on diesel-burning open-cycle gas turbines; and last year’s tariff hikes.
He said Eskom is “confident” that if energy availability factor stays above its current 70%, the utility should be to stay in “a safe zone” going forward.
Eskom’s 2025 profit before tax of R23.9-billion will be invested back into the business for critical infrastructure and energy security. In 2024, the before-tax figure was a loss of R25.5-billion.
Marokane said that the return to profitability was underpinned by a stronger Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) margin of 29.05% (2024: 14.67%).
‘Sustainable, investable’
The recovery of previously disallowed fuel levy rebates from South African Revenue Service provided a further boost to earnings and liquidity. After adjusting for this once-off recovery, Eskom recorded a normalised profit before tax of R11.9-billion.
“Eskom is increasingly a sustainable, investable company ready to compete in a liberalised, competitive energy market, and is very different from the crisis that in October 2022 the current Eskom board inherited when they took office,” Nyati said in a statement.
Eskom chief financial officer Calib Cassim said that as Eskom stabilises, the migration towards a more appropriate tariff path that balances customer affordability with Eskom’s financial sustainability is a key to the sustainability of the company.
Since 2024, national average tariffs have risen by 190%, with energy minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa telling reporters that the country is moving towards single-digit tariff increases, echoing previous remarks to this effect by Marokane.
Cassim said Eskom is supporting the restructuring of the electricity supply industry into a rules-based competitive market where players can compete fairly.
Eskom continues to deal with municipal debt, which stood at R94.6-billion as of 31 March 2025. This a 27% increase from 2024. Most participating municipalities are failing to meet the basic requirement of paying their current accounts on time and in full.
“This is not sustainable, no organisation is going to survive if you are not paid for your services,” said Cassim. He warned that if this trend continues, Eskom will be in R300-billion arrears by 2030.
Eskom received a qualified external audit opinion for 2025 due to incomplete or inaccurately maintained records in terms of the Public Finance Management Act.
It said in a statement that these records did not comply with legislative requirements relating to irregular expenditure and losses due to criminal conduct. Issues raised in the prior year’s audit qualification were not adequately addressed and continued into 2025. Several internal control deficiencies were also highlighted.
An audit recovery oversight committee, chaired by Marokane, has been established to ensure executive-level accountability and strategic alignment.
“Its primary objective is to restore the integrity of Eskom’s internal control systems, resolve recurring audit findings and enhance audit preparedness. The programme also aims to support unqualified audit outcomes and ensure the timely publication of Eskom’s annual financial statements in line with legislative requirements,” Eskom said in a statement.
Read: Eskom working to end load reduction within 18 months
On the outlook for 2026, Cassim said he expected Eskom to continue on its upward trajectory. “Is this a once-off? No, we should never go back there,” he said of the utility’s troubled recent history. — (c) 2025 NewsCentral Media
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