FIRST CUT: Contact first-half earnings fall 11% as dry spell saps generation

Sun, 11 Feb 2018

By Paul McBeth Feb. 12 (BusinessDesk) - Contact Energy's first-half earnings fell 11 percent as the electricity generator-retailer dealt with a dry spell which sapped its hydro generation in what it described as a "highly competitive" market. Earnings before tax, depreciation, amortisation and changes in the value of financial instruments, a measure in the electricity sector to demonstrate performance shorn of one-off factors, dropped to $236 million in the six months ended Dec. 31 from $264 million a year earlier, the Wellington-based c...

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