Lower hydro lakes in the South Island at the start of the year has prompted State-owned electricity generator and retailer Mighty River Power to forecast stronger full-year earnings.
The company, expected to be partly privatised later this year, made an underlying profit of $101.7 million in the six months to December - an increase of 14% on the same period a year earlier.
Gross earnings rose 9% to $255 million due to higher gas-fired production in response to lower hydro lakes in the South Island, as well as stronger sales, despite customer numbers falling 5% to 383,000.
Mighty River has upgraded its full-year earnings forecast to between $460 million and $475 million dollars, which chief executive Doug Heffernan says reflects drier conditions in the south and a fuller Lake Taupo where the company's hydro-generation is based.
