Green energy supplier Good Energy has blamed “Russia’s stranglehold on gas supplies to Europe” for a fall in profits in the first half of 2022.
The Wiltshire-headquartered company saw gross profit decrease by 31.1% to £12.2m in the six months to June 2022 – down from £17.7m in the first half of 2021. It also made an underlying loss before tax of £700,000, compared to a profit of £4.8m over the same period last year.
The Chippenham-based company said its losses included £800,000 in relation to its Bristol electric vehicle (EV) charging company Zap-Map. Following a recent funding round, Good Energy said Zap-Map would be deconsolidated from full-year profit before tax figures.
However, revenue at Good Energy increased 57.4% to £107.6m – up from £68.4m over the same period in 2021 – which was driven by significant price rises throughout the year in response to rising wholesale costs.
The company also said following the sale of generation assets completed in January 2022 for total consideration of £21.2m it was now “debt free”. The company was in a cash equivalents position of £22.2m at the end of August 2022.
Nigel Pocklington, chief executive of Good Energy, said: “Despite the pressures of the wider market, I am pleased with the resilient performance and continued delivery on our growth strategy during the period.
“We remain a substantially debt-free business with a strong balance sheet, which is of benefit to all our stakeholders, and have taken tangible steps to invest in our future, in both new products for solar customers and supporting Zap-Map’s growth by powering electric vehicle drivers.”
Mr Pocklington said UK energy prices had been driven to “fresh highs” due to further shortages and uncertainty – and the crisis was likely to “escalate further”.
“We have been vocal in stating that the only solution in the short term is government support and demand reduction, with an accelerated roll out of renewables in the medium to longer term,” he said.
Good Energy said it expected the introduction of the government’s Energy Bill Support Scheme to minimise the impact of the rising forward prices over the medium term for its customers.
“We are now pleased to see the government take meaningful steps to help customers through winter and beyond. Over the past 12 months, the rising cost of energy, multiple supplier failures and everyday consumers having to pick up the bill only serves to highlight a greater need for renewables to play a vital role in our long-term energy strategy,” Mr Pocklington added.
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