The ESB said today a company-wide restructuring programme and a rise in fuel and commodity prices are to blame for a sharp fall in profits in 2000.
The former state monopoly power supplier today reported a profit of £31 million in 2000, a reduction of £185 million on the 1999 return.
ESB chairman Mr Tadhg O’Donoghue said the company considered it "prudent and appropriate" to make provision for the £236 million restructuring charge in the company’s accounts.
The annual report shows that ESB’s borrowings rose by £6 million to £661 million over the year. The company’s debt/asset ratio reamins unchanged at 31 per cent.
The accounts deal with the first year of deregulation of the Irish electricity market.
Mr O’Donoghue said the ESB is competing successfully in the tough new environment and is preparing all the elements of the business for the fully open market in 2005.
Capital investment by the ESB in 2000 amounted to over £330 million including network renewal, connecting news customers and the new Ringsend gas turbine station with Statoil.
Work is also continuing on plans for two peat-fired stations and six substations in the Dublin area.