Meridian receipts sink close to listing price

Monday 18th November 2013

Strong inflows of water to its South Island hydro storage lakes and windy weather saw Meridian Energy generate 13 percent more electricity in the three months to Sept. 30 than in the same period last year, but at wholesale prices 22 percent lower than the same time last year.

The average price per Megawatt hour in the latest quarter was $48.58, compared with $62.41 per MWh in the same period last year.

Total generation for the period was 3,177 Gigawatt hours, compared with 2,815 in the comparable prior period, with wind generation at 342 GWh up 24.4 percent and hydro generation at 2,835GWh up 11.6 percent.

Meridian instalment receipts fell 1.4 percent to $1.025 today, just 2.5 cents above their listing price on Oct. 29 of $1, having traded as high as $1.11 on Nov. 6.

With the largest generation portfolio of any power company in New Zealand and its total dependence on renewable energy, Meridian is subject to greater earnings volatility than most of its competitors as returns can be heavily influenced by the weather.

"Subdued national demand continues to be influenced by longer term decline in industrial demand," the company said. Industrial consumers balanced one another out with Norske Skog's Tasman pulp and paper mill reducing consumption while the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter ramped production back up to its new contract volume of 572MW.

The company gained around 3,000 customers between June and September, but total customers at 275,303 are 3.4 percent down on a year earlier.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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