Contact Energy: shareholder dividends instead of long term geothermal investment
Te Mihi geothermal power plant, New Zealand (source: Parsons Brinckerhoff)
Francisco Rojas
23 Jun 2015
The company's results have been very good lately but seeing Contact cancel all overseas geothermal ventures is disappointing.
As reported by ThinkGeoEnergy back on May, Contact Energy decided to cancel all overseas geothermal ventures and instead focus on giving a dividend to shareholders.
According to the Otago Daily Times, “Contact Energy’s 70,000 shareholders will today receive a 50c-per-share special dividend returning $367 million to shareholders, including majority owner Australian-listed Origin Energy.”
it is sad to see Contact Energy having abandoned international geothermal investment plans in favour of cash payouts to its shareholders. A player like Contact Energy could have been a welcome addition to international energy companies pushing for geothermal development. It clearly would have helped strengthen the geothermal sector as a whole. But being a listed company clearly has some challenges.
Source: Otago Daily Times
