Bucking the trend: Good Energy posts record profits

As supplier after supplier goes bankrupt amid increasingly challenging market conditions, one supplier is bucking the trend. Renewable energy specialist, Good Energy, has posted record profits for 2018, showing that independent energy suppliers can still survive, and even thrive, in the current climate.

Good Energy’s profits more than doubled over the past year, thanks to their innovative approach to the energy market. Amid fierce competition in the household energy sector, the green supplier offset losses in this area by extending their reach into the business supply market.

By focusing on businesses looking to meet their green sustainability targets, Good Energy increased their business customer base by almost a quarter. While their domestic energy customers dropped off by 3.4%, this was more than adequately mitigated by their push into the business sector.

As a result, their profits before tax soared to £1.6m from £700,000 the year before. Revenue grew also, from £104.5min 2017 to £116.9m last year, a rise of 11.9%.

Chief Executive of Good Energy, Juliet Davenport, has said that the demand for green energy suppliers has never been greater. Major UK companies are committing to reducing their carbon emissions, and as a result, are looking for supplier who are doing the same.

Davenport commented that,

"A period of rapid change is underway in the UK energy market. The trends in both the competitive landscape and the continuing renewable energy revolution leave us extremely well-placed to succeed. In a year where more than a dozen UK energy suppliers went bankrupt, Good Energy has continued to deliver robust growth and cash generation - putting the business on a firm footing for the future.”

The Chief Executive has also highlighted the company’s smart meter rollout , which was pushed back to this year so they could install SMETS2. She described the meters as the ‘cornerstone’ for their market product, alluding to further integration of electric vehicles, energy storage and additional home based renewables.

In the pipeline for Good Energy is an interesting sounding app which will integrate with the smart meters once up and running. The app will replace the need for an in home display, and the company has tested ‘additional functionalities’, the details of which are yet to be revealed.

As part of their push to extend their service offerings, Good Energy have taken a 12.9% stake in the parent company of Zap-Map. The deal, worth just over £1m in total, will be paid for in stages. Good Energy are funding £280,000 up front for the share, with the rest being paid upon the achievement of certain milestones and financial targets.

Zap-Map provides location services for EV charging points across the UK and has around 70,000 users each month. Described as the ‘go-to’ app for EV drivers, it helps them plot routes, find chargers and, key for Good Energy, to share energy.

Good Energy have said they want to be at the forefront of a ‘new energy sharing economy’. Zap-Map already has a ‘Zap-Home’ feature, which allows private households and business EV chargers to be used by other registered Zap-Map drivers. Payments for charging are processed in the app.

With Good Energy’s focus on a more decentralised energy strategy, something they’ve been developing for more than two years, this investment seems to be an excellent fit for the company and something which will stand them in good stead for the future.

Dyball Associates are proud to help new supply businesses successfully launch in the UK market.

Through our energy market consultancy services, and the software we've developed, we're supporting new UK electricity and gas suppliers get set up and start supplying.

Follow us on LinkedIn to keep up to date with the latest news and updates in the energy industry.