Despite sociopolitical and macroeconomic challenges which have affected multiple sectors across the country, KE remains steadfast towards customer centricity, thus aligned in serving its customers in the most reliable and efficient way.
This was stated by Aamir Ghaziani, Chief Financial Officer of KE at the Corporate Analyst Briefing session held at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) recently. Other members of the KE Leadership team were also present at the session. The Company’s performance for the financial year 2023 has been significantly affected by challenging sociopolitical and macroeconomic factors that have had a cascading impact on multiple sectors including KE. Factors such as surging inflation, a policy rate hike, rupee devaluation and a contraction in economic activity have cast a significant influence on the company’s operations and overall profitability.
In FY23, KE observed a 7.3% reduction in units sent out due to reduced economic activity. Despite tough macroeconomic conditions, KE was able to successfully achieve NEPRAs T&D loss benchmark of 15.3% in FY 2023. The devaluation of the Pakistani Rupee contributed to a rise in exchange losses by PKR 4.38 billion.
Additionally, impairment losses related to doubtful debts increased by PKR 6.28 billion, influenced by escalating inflation and a challenging economic landscape, affecting customers’ propensity to pay. Further, a substantial rise in finance costs by PKR 19.45 billion, primarily driven by elevated borrowing rates, resulted in a post-tax loss of PKR 30.90 billion for the company. During the briefing session, KE leadership apprised the audience regarding its continued investment in the power infrastructure. Currently, the construction of the 500kV KANNUP-Karachi Interconnection (KKI) Grid, being the Company’s first flagship Grid at 500kV is witnessing rapid progress.
