Umeme’s earnings boosted by partial repayment of government debt and industries

umeme

Umeme technicians at work in Kampala. The company is Uganda’s sole power distributor. PHOTO | FILE

Growing import substitution and partial payment of a huge project debt incurred by government sharply boosted Umeme Ltd’s earnings during the first six months of 2021 amidst soft Covid-19 lockdown measures but political uncertainty surrounding the operational future of Uganda’s largest electricity distributor remains a nagging headache for investors.

The power distributor’s total sales revenues rose from Ush848.8 billion ($238.9 million) in June 2020 to Ush827.9 billion ($233 million) in June 2021 while net profit before tax increased from Ush32.2 billion ($9 million) to Ush69.6 billion ($19.6 million) during the same period.