AGL, the energy giant, reports a quadrupling of underlying net profit for the December half, but also a significant increase in bad debt expense due to higher wholesale electricity prices.
When Commonwealth Bank reports its December-half profit on Wednesday, analysts will pore over its credit quality metrics for any signs that higher interest rates and cost-of-living pressures are forcing bad debt s higher. In all likelihood, there will be very little to see, perhaps beyond minor increases in loan losses. But that’s not to say there aren’t pockets of distress emerging in other parts of the economy – just ask energy giant AGL .
underlying net profit quadrupling to $399 million for the December half as the lagged effect of last year’s higher wholesale electricity prices swelled its top and bottom lines. But those higher prices came with pain for some customers. AGL’s net bad debt expense rose 73 per cent year-on-year to $59 million, and has doubled since the December half of 2022. At some level, it makes sense that bad debts would surge at a power company, and not a bank. For starters, AGL doesn’t get to do the deep credit checks on its customers that a bank doe
AGL Energy Profit Bad Debt Electricity Prices
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