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Shadine Taufik · · 6 min read

Sunseap’s tale of hope despite widening losses

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Hi there,

Global warming has been a hot topic (no pun intended) in the past few years.

The 2021 film Don’t Look Up satirized political sentiment and society’s reaction to the climate crisis, while Blade Runner 2049 painted Earth as a barren wasteland, set 27 years from now.

Additionally, one of my favorite bands – The 1975 – lent the opening track of their fourth album to climate activist Greta Thunberg and her poignant spoken word.

Despite ideas around climate change entering the public consciousness, a real paradigm shift has yet to come as fossil fuels continue to be the biggest contributor to the problem. After all, most of the decades-old factories and plants in operation still require gas, oil, and coal for power.

Even though alternative energy sources remain an option, adoption has been slow.

This is bad news for firms such as Singapore-based solar power firm Sunseap. In this week’s Big Story, my colleague, Collin, explores the firm’s 2021 financials in a series of charts.

After two years of profitability, the company has reported its largest annual loss in the last seven years. The firm’s total expenses in 2021 nearly doubled from 2020, while revenue only rose 15.4% within the same time span.

Regardless, Sunseap’s revenue from energy supply has doubled in 2021 to US$62.3 million – making it the firm’s largest source of income. This marks a turning point, as two years ago, it was the smallest revenue contributor – its construction and maintenance of solar photovoltaic systems was its largest income stream before this.

This indicates a growth in demand for alternative energy in Southeast Asian homes and businesses, and perhaps the inklings of a cleaner future.

In other news, Indonesian coffee giant Kopi Kenangan has made its first foray abroad, into Malaysia. This week’s Making Waves features my colleague, Aditya, demystifying the move.

— Shadine


THE BIG STORY

Sunseap records biggest loss in 7 years


MAKING WAVES


FYI


NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW


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TIA Writer

Shadine Taufik

Fan of all things AI and art.