FIRST CUT: Contact Energy reports $116M half year loss on asset writedowns

FIRST CUT: Contact Energy reports $116M half year loss on asset writedowns
Pattrick Smellie
By Pattrick Smellie Feb. 14 (BusinessDesk) - Electricity generator and retailer Contact Energy announced a $116 million net loss in the six months to Dec. 31, as it booked write downs of $257 million on its Otahuhu B power plant, which it closed last year, and a decision that its Taheke geothermal prospect is unlikely to be developed in the foreseeable future. The net statutory loss compared with a $51 million net profit for the same period a year earlier, the Wellington-based company said in a statement to the NZX. The result is the f...