In the first half of the budget year, the gross profit of public enterprises has shot up by almost double when compared to similar periods of last year. In similar fashion, profits surpass the set projections.
During the press conference held on Wednesday March 23 at PEHA headquarters, Habtamu Hailemichael, Director General of Public Enterprises Holding and Administration (PEHA), indicated that in the half year that closed early January 2022, the public enterprises have been able to generate 271.4 billion birr in revenue which was three percent higher than the projection to be attained in the stated period.
In the first half year of the budget year, PEHA had targeted to generate close to 264 billion birr revenue.
Habtamu reminded that the period that passed in the first half of the budget year was very difficult in light of the law enforcement operation in the northern part of the country, “while in this difficult period public enterprises’ performance has catapulted.”
The performance has not only surpassed the projection but it has also shown a wide increment compared with the same period of last year’s budget.
In the first half of 2020/21, the revenue generated from public enterprises was about 170 billion birr which is 60 percent lower than the first half 2021/22 budget year.
Similarly, in the stated period, the profit before tax has also outperformed the projection and last year’s same-period performance.
In the stated period, the public enterprises were expected to earn 36.7 billion birr as profit before tax, while the actual performance reeled in almost 52 billion birr or 42 percent higher than the projection. The gross profit has also spiked by 97 percent compared with the same period of last budget year.
According to Habtamu, enterprises in transport and logistics, communication, and finance sector are the major contributors to the revenue and profit.
From the total 36 public enterprises that PEHA oversaw, four enterprises including the Ethiopian Railway Corporation and Ethio Engineering Group have registered losses.
In the stated period, the public enterprises in general generated USD 3.83 billion that is 96 percent of the target. The foreign currency generation has also increased by USD 540 million or 16 percent compared with similar periods of last year. Ethiopian Airlines Group and Commercial Bank of Ethiopia took the 94.7 percent of hard currency generation, while the remaining 5.3 percent hard currency generation was secured through Ethio Telecom, Development Bank of Ethiopia and Ethiopian Electric Power.