Korea Electric Loses $3.1B In Last Quarter Of 2021

Korea Electric Power Corp. said Thursday it swung to the red in the fourth quarter of last year from a year earlier due to a rise in fuel and power purchase costs, Yonhap News Agency reported.

Photo Insert: KEPCO's power plant in Cebu, Philippines

The state-run company posted a net loss of 3.67 trillion won ($3.1 billion) in the October-December period, turning from a profit of 584.7 billion won a year earlier, it said in a regulatory filing.

It logged an operating loss of 4.73 trillion won, compared with a profit of 993.7 billion won in the same period. Revenue rose 5.6 percent to 15.51 trillion won.

The weaker bottom line is largely attributable to hikes in operating costs amid surging fuel prices, the company said in a release. For all of 2021, it also shifted to the red with a net loss of 5.25 trillion won, from the 2.09 trillion won the previous year.

Operating loss reached a record high of 5.86 trillion won for the year, compared with a profit of 4.08 trillion won. Annual revenue rose 3.4 percent to 60.57 trillion won.

The annual revenue from electricity sales only grew 2.7 percent to 57.2 trillion won, as the unit selling price was adjusted to help ease people's financial burden amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, KEPCO said.

The fuel and power purchase costs rose by 5.9 trillion won due to the significant rise in the prices of liquefied natural gas and coal, it added.

WEEKLY FEATURE : MVP Group Keeps Lights On During Pandemic