Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), the operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, said Friday it booked a whopping 772.9 billion yen April-December profit owing to an electricity rate hike and its massive government bailout.
TEPCO was teetering on the brink as cleanup and compensation costs stoked huge losses and threatened to collapse the sprawling utility until Tokyo stepped with a multi-billion dollar rescue.
TEPCO said it earned the net profit in the nine months to December, compared with a net loss of 2.2 billion yen in the same period a year earlier.
Sales rose 10.8% to 4.8 trillion yen.
A rate hike helped offset a decline in the amount of electricity TEPCO sold owing to warmer-than-usual weather that cut demand for heating.
It also booked a special gain of nearly 1.8 trillion yen based on funds the company received from a government-backed bailout fund.
Pressuring its bottom line, TEPCO said it faces rising fuel costs as it relies on fossil fuel-powered thermal plants after all off Japan's nuclear reactors were shut in response to the Fukushima Daiichi alert that was caused by the March 2011 quake-tsunami disaster.
The plant's cooling systems were swamped by monster waves, sparking reactor meltdowns and radiation leaks.
Tens of thousands of people were evacuated from around the plant with decommissioning of the site expected to take decades.
© (c) 2014 AFP
39 Comments
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Cricky
A distasteful state of affairs.
ifd66
So our taxes (bailout) will be going to rich instututions (stock dividend payouts/profit). Yes, a discraceful set of affairs.
Disillusioned
Disgusting!
sillygirl
How can they still take money from us in the form of higher and higher taxes and rates. They should be ashamed of themselves with people still living in temporary housing and not getting money due.
Ranger_Miffy2
My electric rates are up. TEPCO just keeps taking. The stockholders model of business is a disaster. Not for the stockholders, for the rest of us.
hereforever
After seeing my electric bill for last month, I can see why!!!!!
Disillusioned
Yeah, I have to concur with Zichi. This so-called, 'company' has sucked up huge amounts of public funds, increased electricity tariffs and hardly paid any compensation to the displaced victims, yet they have a hide to turn around and boldly state they made a huge profit. Any profits this company makes should be funneled through to the victims first, then to the public as tariff rebates and finally, to repay the public funds they are sucking up. It's an absolute disgrace!
Ghost rider
I assume the profit will be returned to the taxpayer and the electricity price can be reduced. Joking won't happen ....
ColinWilson
Japan has embraced the worst U.S. qualities in politics (self-serving idiots that don't get anything done) and their treatment of big business (they do illegal things that ends in various disasters, and the government rewards them while the people suffer). Tepco's desire to save money (placing the reactors in an unsafe location when a higher/safer location was both available and recommended) allowed the disaster to happen, and their continuing incompetence continues to put the Japanese population at risk. But, instead of arresting these traitors (and to me, traitors are people that prize money over their country's safety), the government pays them! It blows the mind.
oikawa
What in the name of hell????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Is bailout a recognised term on a balance sheet?
Steven Sell
Disgraceful this company shouldn't exist let alone make a profit. The Japanese government should resign.
smithinjapan
Glad they're getting rich while people in shelters are still committing suicide because three years on they cannot take it and haven't received any compensation.
David Foley
Until the Japanese people wake up, we are all going to be paying through the nose to this irresponsible entity.
sighclops
¥772.9bn... That has to be a misprint...!
nath
It doesn't even surprise me. 12 of the 20 top grossing companies in the world (and 7 of the top ten) are some form of energy company. These companies receive massive government bailouts, tax breaks, and incentives, while holding the same governments hostage and gouging their consumers to the end of massive profits. I'm obviously in the wrong business.
Slamdunk
Time to subsidize the poor with all those extra surplus right???
bruinfan
Wonderful model...privatize profit and socialize loss. What a win-win (for TEPCO anyway).
Louis Tan
This is only possible because TEPCO continues dumping millions of tons of radiated contaminated water into the Pacific Ocean while not doing anything to arrest the problem. TEPCO continues to make profits while the other countries and their people suffer long term damage.
Magnet
How they are still registering a profit just highlights how corrupt this company is.
Christopher Blackwell
Good now it can start paying back some of the taxpayers money and start paying out money to those victims of its disasters. Oh you mean that is not what it is planning to do with its profits?
ADK99
Exactly why all national utilities should be nationalized. Essential services ought to be run - and priced - for the benefit of society, not stockholders.
LouHiro
I HATE TEPCO and resent that I have to use their services!
king+and+slave
Criminal!!
wtfjapan
this is fracking disgusting, all profits that tepco makes should be used to pay back all the damage they have done, even if it takes 50years. the sooner the Jgov increases competition in the electricity sector the better off the average Sato will be. Japan has very high elec prices compared to other developed nations, higher prices makes J companies less competitive and less disposable income for the average person. People wont spend what they dont have Mr Abe
habibu
its good profit and no problem tokyo metropolitan government health officials have issued an influenza epidemic warning, labeling the capital as a high-risk are
ohayo206
Fat cats getting fatter off taxpayer money. Bailout= excuse to squeeze working class until they are slave to system. Taxation with no way out. Working class will bear the burden of lifting Japan out of any economic disaster.
Mirai Hayashi
Pay us back then! And settle you debts with the people of Fukushima, damn! this company disgusts me!!
nath
$7 billion, and they still won't help the people who were screwed by their choosing to ignore warnings that what happened, may happen. Pathetic.
Bear27840
That type of profit and they wanted their customers to pay for the clean-up at Fukushima.
The government said they could raise their prices so that tells you who controls the government and it is not the Japanese Citizen.
Deepak Kumar
Is it profit or revenue that is being quoted here. It looks a huge sum, how can it be profit?
Utrack
Government Bailout???? How?? when J Govt owns over 50% of TEPCO. J Govt just paid themselves is all. I would like to play this song for J Govt and the TEPCO Execs about Fukushima Daiichi's NPPs reactors being left open to the elemental atmosphere. Those Big Rad Readings at Daiichi NPP don't just stop there like a wall is in the way & everywhere else is just an estimate of 1 meter height readings cause if you check some of those readings are from 22 meters in the air like in Nagano.
Simona Stanzani
they should give that money to the displaced people (a lot of them are still in temporary housing) and pay for reconstruction in Tohoku.
kaimycahl
People TEPCO is the government the government is a BUSINESS they will never go broke as long as PEOPLE live. The government purpose in your life is to rule, you are the product you are an easy sale as long as you work their motto is keep the profits coming and that is PAY YOUR TAXES so why be surprised they made a profit.
Nathalie Ancelin
Just awful .
Barry Cohen
Those people at TEPCO should be jailed for gross negligence and crimes against humanity! Those profits should be taken and used to purchase the mineral zeolite to detox the thousands of people that allowed to be radiated!