Full Version - Essential Energy

Chairman and Managing
Director’s report
4
Country Energy broke new ground in 2004-2005.
We enjoyed widely acknowledged successes,
commenced a major cultural shift and set about
meeting our customers’ increasing expectations
– all in a challenging commercial environment.
The ultimate reward was the announcement of our
merger with Australian Inland in November 2004.
Country Energy was itself formed through the
successful three-way merger of smaller energy
suppliers and has never looked back. Our track record
shows that we have the capacity to improve service
delivery and reliability, viably compete against larger
urban retailers, harness economies of scale and
promote sustainable jobs growth.
The merger with Australian Inland means that Country
Energy’s operating area spans a massive 95 per cent
of New South Wales’ land mass and confirms Country
Energy’s position as operator of Australia’s largest
power network.
With the addition of water services in Broken Hill and
surrounding townships, Country Energy has become
a genuine multi-utility. The merger has also given
both organisations the benefit of combined resources,
expertise and clout.
Our decentralised structure ensures decision making
reflects local priorities. At the same time, our corporate
scale allows us to provide the infrastructure needed to
support effective frontline service delivery.
Underpinning the growth of our customer base is a
capacity to market and deliver competitive products
and services. We have a proud record of building and
maintaining customer relationships, operating customer
service infrastructure and realising the significant value
of the Country Energy brand.
Building on last year’s strong financial performance,
we delivered an excellent result for our shareholders,
providing an after tax profit of $98.7 million. This was
ahead of target for the fourth year in succession.
Continued strong growth in operating revenue
and careful management of our expenditure were
contributing factors. This result is particularly pleasing
as it was achieved in a more competitive environment
than a year ago.
Country Energy remains acutely aware of the challenge
of securing new energy supplies while reducing
the environmental impacts of energy use. We have
adopted a suite of responses, including innovative
energy efficiency initiatives, buying energy from
renewable and low emission generators and reducing
the impact of our own energy consumption. These
measures contribute to a better balance of energy
security and environmental sustainability.
New opportunities may arise from policy reforms under
consideration by the New South Wales Government, as
first articulated in the Energy Directions Green Paper.
Country Energy submitted a comprehensive response,
focussing on our expertise as a dedicated regional
energy supplier, and putting forward proposals to
create an even more competitive retail business while
encouraging new investment in generation capacity.
Our Board will continue to demand high standards
of the corporation, setting ‘stretch’ targets to drive
performance improvement. We acknowledge the
contribution of our Board to the governance of the
organisation, and we thank fellow directors for their
guidance.
Most importantly, we sincerely thank Country Energy’s
employees for their hard work, passion and dedication.
This report records many achievements of which all
employees can be proud.
Barbara Ward
Chairman of the Board
Craig Murray
Managing Director
COUNTRY ENERGY ANNUAL REPORT 2004–2005