The latest Investing Matters Podcast with Jean Roche, Co-Manager of Schroder UK Mid Cap Investment Trust has just been released. Listen here.
Just very happy for those among us who have spent a year or more underwater.
Some may still be down there but will be buoyed by the hope today is bringing.
Uk investing dot com particularly good for the free entertainment of a live price, should any one need free live access
Vanadium supply deficit - particularly in China, particularly with Vanadium flake.
But obvs jan a big month for Eskom news
Not active - and so the brakes should be off.
Alfa's analysis of after-close activity last night was shrewd
A good day
becoming my favourite phrase
Yes - protocols already in place. Like so many workplaces BMN will have adapted to the new modus operandi. Not worried at all by this.
This meant Eskom was spending almost R2bn a week to finance its debt — and cash from operations was far from that figure. Eskom has made it clear that it needs to take at least R200bn of debt off its balance sheet to be financially sustainable.
In October, public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan promised a debt solution before the end of this year, but there is as yet no sign of a proposal. Any debt restructuring would have to be agreed on with all the holders of Eskom's debt. Constantatos said no proposals had been shared with bondholders.
Eskom headquarters, Megawatt Park, in Sunninghill, Johannesburg. The power utility is expected to be unbundled in 2021.
Industry experts have welcomed the restructure but there are concerns that the government will not go all the way and make transmission completely independent and transform the industry.
There are concerns, too, that simply splitting off transmission, in the absence of other reforms, including a solution to Eskom's debt problem, could leave the rest of Eskom even more financially stressed.
"They are setting up a potential problem of a stronger independent transmission, system and market operator — with a lower cost of funding — that could make the Eskom holding company weaker," said Intellidex analyst Peter Attard Montalto.
Futuregrowth's Olga Constantatos said many utilities had gone the route of splitting into the three areas of generation, distribution and transmission and it made a lot of sense, but it could not be done in isolation.
"Splitting Eskom is part of the answer but it is not going to solve the underlying problems of the debt spiral and the death spiral, which is tariffrelated," she said. The "death spiral" refers to higher tariffs driving down demand for electricity, prompting Eskom to ask for higher tariffs.
University of Cape Town professor Anton Eberhard said 110 countries had unbundled transmission entities in the past 2030 years.
"The independent transmission, system and market operator [Itsmo] creates a transparent and fair platform for procuring and contracting new, leastcost power," he said.
"Ultimately the impact will be profound." Leastcost power would be mainly solar and wind, backed up by gas and utilityscale batteries, in line with SA's integrated resource plan. Eskom's share of generation would decline over time, he said. Eberhard is concerned, however, that there is insufficient leadership from the government to set timelines for the next step, which is taking the Eskom Itsmo subsidiary out as a completely separate stateowned transmission entity, with an independent board.
"That next step will be necessary to unlock the huge quantum of investment required to meet our future power needs." DECLINE IN REVENUE
For the six months to September, which included the Covid19 crisis and 19 days of power cuts, Eskom reported a 10.3% decline in sales volumes and revenue that was flat despite an 8.7% increase in tariffs.
At R15.3bn, the finance costs on Eskom's huge R424bn debt burden wiped out the R14.3bn it made in operating profit. It was only thanks to the government's bailout cash that it managed to pay the interest on its debt. It expects a fullyear loss of R22bn, making this the third full year in which it will have incurred a loss of more than R20bn.
Eberhard pointed out that government bailouts to Eskom since 2008 had totalled R188bn, including R56bn in the current year.Eskom CFO Calib Cassim said Eskom's average cost of debt was 9.8%, with debtservicing costs totalling R94bn for the year.
Eskom is on track to split off its transmission arm and establish the new entity as a separate company within the next year. This would pave the way for greater competition in SA's electricity industry.
Eskom group CEO André de Ruyter said at the release of the power utility's interim financial results this week that Eskom envisaged the legal separation of the transmission entity by December 2021.
This would be in line with the timelines in the government's road map for the reform of Eskom that were published in October last year. De Ruyter appealed to regulators and legislators to deliver the changes needed to achieve the legal separation.
The transmission entity would be wholly owned by Eskom.
The new creation comes as the government continues to promise to bring new, independent power producers onto the grid.
De Ruyter made it clear that SA would need a lot more powergenerating capacity than Eskom could currently provide, even when it completes its build programme and improves the performance of its existing power stations. The power utility this week reported that it made a small net profit of R83m for the six months end 30 September. But it provided a highlevel glimpse of the financial performance of each of its three divisions: transmission, generation and distribution.
Each would have a separate board and management and would be functionally separated by March 2021.The financial breakdown shows that, at current electricity tariffs, all three divisions will make pretax losses for the full financial year. By far the largest of these is the projected R24.6bn loss in the generation division, which houses the power stations, including the hugely overbudget Medupi and Kusile projects.
Transmission's projected loss is just under R3bn, though Eskom's debt still has to be divided between the three divisions and it will report in full on each of them only for the full year to endMarch. De Ruyter said electricity tariffs needed to rise by about 26% to ensure Eskom could be independently financially sustainable.
Eskom expects to start the process to apply for a new multiyear tariff dispensation early in 2021.The new transmission entity that will buy, dispatch and transmit the power generated by independent producers and Eskom alike is expected to enable a more level playing field within the industry and open it up to greater private sector participation and scrutiny.
That is different from the current situation in which Eskom generates most of SA's power but also buys and transmits power from other, independent power producers, particularly of renewable energy. The creation of the new transmission entity could also drive a more transparent approach to electricity tariffs. The tariffs would have to be unbundled into separate charges, and regulated separately by the National Energy Regulator for each of Eskom's three unbundled divisions.
The title of RichKen's autobiography?
15.50p live
He has that RichKen effervescence.
Double inverted dutch candlestick forming at 14.95.
Have a good day all.
Wrong Larky so be careful.
14p early April 2018 but didn't reach 48p until mid November 2018.
So 8 months rather than 2 days.
Absolutely share your excitement. But just be wary of using British Bull's algorithmic nonsense as a basis for serious investment decisions.
God I'm not going to miss the obsessive posting about 15p from the 'read your tea leaves' brigade.
Crikey - any more details on this?
I don’t believe in charting or astrology. Typical traits of a Capricorn.
This is a pure ramp. Please desist.