Origin on Thursday revealed its full-year profit had crashed 93 per cent from $1.21 billion to $83 million as COVID-19 hammered energy prices and increased the risk of bad debts from customers unable to pay their bills. Origin's underlying profit – stripping out one-off costs – was largely unchanged from the previous year at $1.02 billion and not as severe as some had feared.
Investors, however, were most concerned about Origin's year-ahead outlook. UBS analyst Tom Allen said softer underlying earnings in Origin's energy retailing division in 2021 was "likely to disappoint the market".
Suhas Nayak, of Origin shareholder Allan Gray, said the guidance was "weaker than what many had anticipated", but believed the company was positioned well to withstand a period of uncertainty. "I think the company has done very well reducing their debt load, which is good especially in this environment," he said. "They are as well-placed to get through this as anybody."
