Prague-listed Czech energy giant ČEZ announced a net profit of Kč 26.4 billion for the first nine months of the year, a drop of 34 percent compared with the same period in 2010.
The state-controlled electricity company said provisional earnings before depreciation were down 7 percent at Kč 62.4 billion with income up 4.0 percent at Kč 150.6 billion. It maintained its full-year prediction for provisional earnings before depreciation of Kč 84.8 billion, down 5.0 percent compared with 2010.
Chief executive Daniel Beneš said the hit from the fall in electricity prices would have been even greater had it not been for savings and efficiency measures within the power company. The final year end net profit figure should be around Kč 40.6 billion, a drop of 13 percent.
“We expect the all-year figures for 2011 to reach the values announced last quarter. We expect our operating profit before tax and depreciation (EBITDA) to reach Kč 84.8 billion, which would be just 5% below the 2010 level, primarily due to the internal measures we have implemented to improve our efficiency as the electricity price drop was greater than that,” Beneš said in a press release.
Exceptionals
A new windfall tax on free carbon emission allowances, the strengthening of the Czech crown against the euro, in which ČEZ carries out most of its transactions, and the accounting impact of previous steps regarding its joint venture with Hungarian oil and refinery group MOL and the sale of the German mining company MIBRAG contributed to the fall in profits, the company said.
The third quarter net profit figure of Kč 2.48 billion was far below analysts’ expectations of around Kč 7.38 billion, according to a report on the financial news server Patria Online.
