Securities in Victorian electricity and gas supplier and network operator AusNet Services rose nearly 3% yesterday after it trimmed its payout off the back of a 31.4% jump in first-half post-tax profit to $225.7 million.
The company said it is cutting its interim distribution by nearly 7% to 4.75c, 40%.
It said it expects to deliver full-year dividends of between 9¢ and 9.5¢ security with 40 percent franked.
The securities were up 2.8% at $2.02.
The company said the six months to 30 September were a “challenging operating environment” due to lockdowns, capital market volatility, and “a deteriorating economic climate”.
It saw higher residential energy usage, which off-set the decline in commercial and industrial energy usage.
The company said it received no money from the Governments COVID-19 stimulus packages. A relief package for customers struggling to pay bills had no material impact on results.
Ausnet reported revenue of $1.04 billion, a rise of 1.8% compared to the prior corresponding period.
The higher revenues were driven by increased residential electricity distribution volumes as a result of the pandemic and lockdowns which forced more people to spend time at home. The company also had higher lease interest income from completed wind farms.
Ausnet said its earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortisation rose 5.7% to $661.6 million, while EBIT (earnings before interest and tax) rose more than 8% to $429.7 million.
