Annual Report for the year ended 30 June 2007 Contact Energy Annual Report 2007 www.global-reports.com Contents 2 Performance indicators 4 Chairman’s review 6 Chief Executive’s review 9 Overview of results 15 Company overview 18 Governance 27 Remuneration report 35 Shareholder information Financial information 37 Financial statements 42 Notes to the financial statements 82 Audit report 83 Corporate directory The 2007 Annual Meeting of Contact Energy Limited shareholders will be held in The Auditorium, Christchurch Town Hall for Performing Arts, 86 Kilmore Street, Christchurch, on Friday 26 October 2007, commencing at 10:30am NZDST. The Notice of Annual Meeting and Shareholder Voting/Proxy Form have been provided separately to shareholders. www.global-reports.com Contact Energy Limited Annual Report 2007 Pg Highlights for the year ended 30 June 2007 Adjusted profit for the period of $23 million Through the acquisition of the Rockgas LPG business, becoming the only energy company that can offer gas and electricity to customers across the country Announcement of a $2 billion renewable generation investment plan in wind and geothermal development Resource consent applications filed for new Te Mihi geothermal power station Net gain of 2,000 electricity customers from the end of December 2006 to 53,000 at the end of June 2007 Granted renewed resource consents for the company’s Clutha hydro and Wairakei geothermal operations Secured rights to an additional 70 petajoules of natural gas under Maui Right of First Refusal agreements Total dividend for the year of 27 cents per share For more detail on the information contained in this report, please contact: Corporate Affairs PO Box 10742 Wellington Phone: 64 4 499 4001 Email: [email protected] The annual report is available on our website at www.contactenergy.co.nz/annualreport Contact Energy’s sustainability report is also available on our website at www.contactenergy.co.nz/sustainabilityreport www.global-reports.com Pg 2 Performance indicators Contact Energy Limited Annual Report 2007 Performance indicators Financial statistics Adjusted Profit for the Period ($ million) Total Operating Revenue (net of electricity purchases) ($ million) 20 ,00 220 0 ,00 0 00 ,200 03 0 R 05 0 A 07 RB 03 0 05 0 07 EBITDAF ($ million) Operating Cashflow ($ million) 00 50 00 500 350 300 00 250 300 200 03 0 05 0 07 03 0 05 0 07 Dividend (cents per share) Earnings Per Share (cents per share) 27 5 0 2 35 25 30 2 25 23 20 03 0 05 0 07 03 0 R 05 0 A 07 RB CAPEX ($ million) Net Debt/Net Debt+Equity (per cent) 0 35 0 30 20 00 25 0 0 20 03 0 05 0 07 03 0 R 05 0 07 R Return on Total Assets (per cent) 5 3 2 03 0 R 05 0 A 07 RB www.global-reports.com Contact Energy Limited Annual Report 2007 Performance indicators Pg 3 Contact Energy Limited Ordinary versus NZSX 50 Gross Index (index level) C Cumulative Total Shareholder Return (per cent) 250 0 0 20 0 20 70 00 0 30 0 0 0 20 03 0 05 0 07 03 0 05 0 07 Contact Energy Limited Ordinary (CEN.NZ) NZSX 50 Gross Index (NZ50G) Operating statistics Customer Numbers (thousand) Retail Electricity Sales (Gwh) 700 7,00 .5 5 5 00 5 500 7,00 00 300 200 7,200 00 0 7,000 03 0 05 0 07 03 0 05 0 07 Electricity Gas LPG Wholesale electricity price ($ per megawatt hour) Generation by fuel source (gigawatt hours) 2,000 00 0,000 0 ,000 ,000 0 ,000 0 2,000 0 20 03 0 05 0 07 03 0 05 0 07 Hydro Geothermal Thermal Total Notes to the graphs • Comparisons have been restated to reflect current period presentation where appropriate. • For years prior to 1 October 2004, the reporting period was the year ended 30 September; for 2005, the reporting period was the nine months ended 30 June 2005, and the statistics of that period have been annualised where appropriate for the purposes of the above graphs; for 2006 and subsequent years, the reporting period is the year ended 30 June. • The 2005, 2006 and 2007 financial statistics and returns and ratios are based on financial statements prepared in accordance with New Zealand equivalents to International Financial Reporting Standards (NZIFRS). • All calculations in this section have been based on the number of ordinary shares quoted and listed on the New Zealand Stock Market (NZX) as at 30 June 2007 (576,633,962) and exclude the 76,975 restricted ordinary shares issued on 21 June 2007 pursuant to Contact’s employee long term incentive scheme for senior executives. R Denotes years in which Contact Energy’s generation property, plant and equipment were revalued. The revaluation affects Total Assets, Shareholder Funds and related ratios. A Excludes Gain on Disposal of Subsidiaries and Change in Fair Value of Financial Instruments, after tax. B Excludes Change in Fair Value of Financial Instruments, after tax, and the impact of the change in corporate income tax rate. C Indexed to 100 at 30 September 2002. 1 Earnings Before Net Interest Expense, Income Tax, Depreciation, Amortisation and Financial Instruments. The year ended 30 June 2006 was the first year in which Changes in the Fair Value of Financial Instruments were recognised within the income statement in accordance with NZIFRS. www.global-reports.com Pg Chairman’s review Contact Energy Limited Annual Report 2007 Chairman’s review Results We began the year facing two significant challenges. This was the year we would begin to see material increases in the cost of gas we buy and we would most likely see a return to more normal weather patterns following a prior dry year. These challenges were a threat to our current profitability and our ability to continue to grow our company in the years ahead. With this in mind we are pleased with what we have achieved this year. Our profit for the year ended June 2007 was $239.6 million. After adjusting for the gain in fair value of financial instruments ($15.5 million net of tax) and a one-off tax charge resulting from the change in the corporate tax rate ($7.1 million) adjusted profit was $231.2 million. This compares with $241.6 million in the prior year after also adjusting for gains in the fair value of financial instruments and the one-off profit from the sale of Contact’s interest in Valley Power. Earnings before Net Interest Expense, Income Tax, Depreciation, Amortisation and Financial Instruments (EBITDAF) for the 12 months ended 30 June 2007 were $543.7 million, compared with $557.0 million for the same period in 2006. This is a strong performance in a year in which wholesale market conditions were much more challenging than in the previous year. Wholesale electricity prices were 42 per cent lower in the 2007 financial year than in 2006, reflecting increased inflows into key hydro catchments and therefore a reduced need for higher-priced thermal generation. The cost of gas primarily used to fuel our thermal generation and for onsale to wholesale and retail customers also increased by 20 per cent per unit. Despite the significantly lower wholesale market prices, Contact’s total electricity revenue (net of electricity purchases) was relatively constant at $1,344.8 million for the 2007 financial year, compared to $1,347.8 million for the 2006 financial year. While as a generator the company saw markedly lower wholesale revenues, this was partly offset by the lower cost of purchasing electricity from the wholesale market to supply our retail customers. These results continue to demonstrate the value of Contact’s diversity of generation assets, and the importance of the company’s integrated generation and retail business. The company remains in a strong financial position, with gearing of net debt to net debt plus equity being 23 per cent. Reflecting on these results, the Board has resolved to pay a fully imputed final dividend of 17 cents per share. This dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday 25 September 2007, takes the total fully imputed dividends for the 2007 financial year to 27 cents per share. www.global-reports.com Contact Energy Limited Annual Report 2007 Chairman’s review Pg 5 A growing future Not only have we effectively met challenges to our profitability this year, we have also repositioned the company for a growing future. Contact Energy’s acquisition of the Rockgas LPG business gives Contact a 50 per cent share of New Zealand’s LPG market and establishes the company as the only energy company that can offer gas and electricity to its customers across the country. In the Chief Executive’s review, David Baldwin discusses the company’s plans to invest up to $2 billion in new renewable generation projects, which are progressing well. This is an exciting investment programme that, through both the scale of investment and the focus on baseload geothermal development, will help Contact deliver a cleaner, secure electricity supply for New Zealand. As a consequence of prioritising new renewables over large-scale baseload gas-fired generation, Contact is expected to be less dependent on new gas discoveries to drive its growth in generation. Integral to these renewable investment plans will be efficient and timely resource consenting processes. While it is pleasing that consents for Contact’s Wairakei geothermal and Clutha hydro operations have been renewed during the financial year, the consents have taken over six years to secure, at considerable cost. In order for Contact’s new renewable generation projects to meet demand for new capacity, the consenting process will need to be streamlined.