Profits surged at Good Energy, the 100% renewable electricity supplier and power provider, during the first half of this year as it maintained its transition into an energy services business.
But the Chippenham-headquartered group warned this strong performance will be partly offset in the second half of this year by lagging commodity costs and reductions in tariffs.
That will result in an expected one-off loss for the second half, it said as it unveiled its interim results for the six months of 30 June.
The group, which has made a number of acquisitions in recent years to broaden its offering away from just power generation and supply, made a half-year pre-tax profit of £13.2m against a loss of £750,000 in the same period last year.
Its gross profit soared by 168% to £32.7m, with its gross profit margin nearly doubling to 20.9%.
Revenues powered ahead by 45.6% to £156.1m, driven by rising wholesale costs leading to price rises throughout the year.
During the half-year it introduced a new market leading smart export tariff for households with solar panels and rolled out smart export and solar savings propositions to 40,000 customers – with a target of 75,000 by end of this year.
Two recent acquisitions also enabled it to grow its solar and heat installation footprint during the period.
Wessex EcoEnergy, which it bought for £2.5m in June 2023, is an established solar installation business which completed 155 projects in 2022 and is on track for 200 this year. The new business plan looks to double capacity by the end of 2024, Good Energy said.
Last December the firm paid £1.75m to acquire heat pump installation firm Igloo.
Good Energy made a loss of £1.1m from its 49.9% shareholding in Zap-Map, the Bristol-based leading electric vehicle mapping service, despite its registered users increasing by 52% to 683,000 and its monthly active users increasing to a record 285,000.
Good Energy chief executive officer Nigel Pocklington, pictured, said the group had “hit an inflection point” in the past six months.
“The company is now more than an energy supplier, it’s a heat pump and solar installer with over 40,000 customers live on smart export tariffs,” he said.
“Combined with continued strong growth in Zap-map, we are delivering our strategy and well on our way to achieving our mission of helping one million homes and businesses cut their carbon.”
He said the group had “made great strides” through acquisitions to offer new hardware services and launch new services while delivering a positive performance for the first half of the year as it continued to navigate a volatile energy market.
“Our robust cash position serves dual purposes: enabling strategic growth initiatives and providing a buffer against market uncertainties,” he added.
“Whilst we expect some of the energy trading factors which have bolstered profit to unwind through the remainder of the year, we are in a very positive financial position for Good Energy to continue to grow and capitalise on its untapped potential.
“With its legacy as a truly renewable supplier serving one of the UK’s largest solar microgenerator customer bases, Good Energy is uniquely positioned to continue to launch and grow services that make it easy for customers to go green.
“Our goal is to be a one-stop solution for green-minded customers, offering a suite of products that help them reduce carbon, save money, and stay with us longer.
“By focusing on multiple product areas that function harmoniously, we aim to lower churn rates, cut acquisition costs, cross-sell services and boost the overall lifetime value of our growing number of customers.”
