State-owned power utility Eskom reported its first full‑year profit in eight years on Tuesday, helped by government debt relief, higher tariffs and a sharp reduction in power cuts.

The company's power cuts have held back South Africa's economic growth for more than a decade, and its repeated bailouts have drained State coffers.

But the frequency of its outages has reduced dramatically since early last year due to a sudden turnaround in the performance of its coal-fired power station fleet.

There were just 13 days of power cuts in its latest financial year, compared to a record 329 days a year earlier.

Eskom made a profit after tax of R16-billion in the year to the end of March 2025, compared with a R55-billion loss a year earlier.

The company said it would reinvest profits into its infrastructure, targeting R320-billion of investments over the next five years.

The biggest threat to its future remains the debt owed to Eskom by municipalities and metropolitan areas, which make up 42% of its sales.

Municipal debt stood at R103.5-billion in August, up from R94.6-billion in March this year and R74.4-billion in March 2024.

"No organisation would survive if it is not paid for its services. By 2030 the arrears will be over R300-billion," Eskom's CFO Calib Cassim told a press conference.

An audit report said there were still concerns about Eskom's viability as a business, citing rising municipal debt among other factors.