The profits of Eletricidade de Moçambique (EDM) more than doubled in 2022, to 5.22 billion meticais, according to the report and accounts of the state-owned electricity company, consulted by Lusa.

According to the document, the company recorded a net profit of almost 2.1 billion meticais in the 2021 financial year, so profits grew by almost 150% last year.

According to the source, the company has a share capital of 51.72 billion meticais and ended 2022 with total assets of more than 261.67 billion meticais and liabilities of 138.22 billion meticais.

EDM's turnover in 2022 was 46.83 billion meticais, a growth of 10% in the space of a year.

In terms of the number of customers, the company had an increase of 14% in 2022, compared to the previous year, to 2,936,751, also advancing the "expansion of the network and the intensification of new connections", which allowed 356,640 more families "to benefit from electricity, exceeding the target set in the business plan by 11.5%".

The population's Household Access Rate to the electricity grid increased by four percentage points in 2022, to 43% in 2022.

The report also states that of the 416 administrative posts in the country, 318 are connected to the National Electricity Grid, which represents a coverage rate of 76% throughout the country.

EDM ended 2022 with 3,864 permanent employees, and management admits that it is resorting to "subcontracting to cope with staff shortages" in order to "satisfy" the increase in demand "and meet the annual target of connecting 320,000 new customers to the National Electricity Grid".

At the end of last year, EDM operated a 22,992-kilometer medium-voltage distribution network and a 6,355-kilometer transmission network with 15,906 poles.