Eskom records second year in the green

South Africa’s power utility has recorded a second successive profitable year, with the state owned entity saying its turnaround strategy continues to restore operational and financial stability.

Announcing annual results for the financial year ended 31 March 2026, Eskom reported group profit after tax of R30.3 billion, up sharply from a restated R14.0 billion the previous year. Its EBITDA margin improved to 30.63%, from 28.75% restated in 2025.

Chairperson Mteto Nyati said the utility's commercial and developmental mandates were not in conflict, framing profitability as the foundation that allows Eskom to reinvest in green energy, distribution, coal-fleet reliability and grid expansion.

Group chief financial officer Calib Cassim said the financial turnaround had been matched by operational recovery, with more than a year now passed without load shedding.

He pointed to improved liquidity and positive rating actions from S&P Global, Fitch and Moody's, including Eskom's first credit-rating upgrade in over a decade – a factor he linked to South Africa's own sovereign upgrade. Government debt relief, he added, had freed up cash for reinvestment rather than debt servicing.

Group chief executive Dan Marokane described the utility as moving from stabilisation to transformation, with continued profitability supporting efforts to keep price increases in single digits while funding infrastructure maintenance, expansion and decarbonisation technology.

Marokane also set the results against the scale of Eskom's earlier crisis: the CSIR estimated load shedding cost the economy up to R2.8 trillion in 2023, a figure that fell 83% to R481 billion in 2024. In FY2026, just four days of load shedding – 26 hours in total – had a minimal economic impact.

He said a financially sustainable Eskom eased pressure on the national budget and sovereign credit rating, and enabled faster delivery of energy reforms, including integrating renewable energy into the grid.