How Eskom returned to profit after 8 years: We've stayed on course with execution - CEO Marokane

Stephen Grootes talks the future of Eskom with Group CEO Dan Marokane on The Money Show.

Eskom has reported its first full-year profit in eight years, for the twelve months to end-March 2025.

This is thanks to implementing its turnaround strategy, says the power utility, which we've seen resulting in a virtual end to power cuts.

RELATED: Eskom says no load shedding predicted for summer

Profit before tax amounted to R23.9 billion, to be invested back into the business for critical infrastructure and energy security.

Profit after tax for the financial year was R16 billion, compared to a massive R55 billion loss recorded in the previous period.

Eskom says this was underpinned by a stronger EBITDA margin of 29.05% (2024: 14.67%), supported in part by a 12.74% standard tariff increase.

A reduction of 14% in primary energy costs was also a primary contributor, driven by improved coal plant reliability and reduced reliance on expensive Open-Cycle Gas Turbines (OCGT). This resulted in year-on-year diesel savings of R16.3 billion.

RELATED: NERSA slammed as incompetent for miscalculating Eskom revenue shortfall

While South Africans are shouldering the burden of above-inflation electricity price increases, Eskom Chairperson Mteto Nyati says the Board has remained 'utterly focused' on using public money efficiently, with early interventions in governance and controls he says delivering early measurable improvements in the fight against crime, fraud and corruption.

In conversation with Stephen Grootes, Group CEO Dan Marokane says the power utliity's turnaround can indeed be described as dramatic.

"I want to accept the word dramatic, if you look at the performance to date vis-à-vis performance at the peak of intense loadshedding back in 2022/2023."

Dan Marokane, Group CEO - Eskom

Marokane says they expected to see these results within the context of what he says was a very clearly thought-through plan for operational recovery, as captured in their generation recovery plan, devised around April/May in 2023.

"This operational performance is really coming on the back of having identified the pain points throughout the coal fleet in particular, having resourced it appropriately, with the support from National Treasury that allowed us to be able to do our planning and the purchasing of spares in time... and the timely onboarding of contractors and our resources. 

Dan Marokane, Group CEO - Eskom

"And then naturally, staying the course in terms of execution and doing course correction where necessary."

Dan Marokane, Group CEO - Eskom

Marokane highlights catching up on a maintenance backlog and now sticking to a maintenance plan as a key factor.

To sustain this level of electricity security going forward, they need to ensure that Eskom never goes back to a point where maintenance programmes are not executed due to money scarcity, he says.

Energy analyst Ruse Moleshe also weighs in on Eskom's future - take a listen in the interview audio at the top of the article