Polish utility Enea expects to increase its core profit in Q1

Enea, a Polish utility company, posted a 3.4% increase in its core profit for the first quarter of this year on Tuesday night. This was largely due to higher revenues from its distribution division at a time that it is looking to expand its renewables energy offerings.

Enea's preliminary estimate of EBITDA was 1.94 billion zlotys (518.2 millions).

Why it's important

Enea, Poland’s third largest power utility in terms of market value, faces pressure due to falling profits from its coal-fired generation fleet, as renewable energies take a greater share of the country's energy mix.

According to the energy policy think-tank Forum Energii, Poland will reduce its reliance upon coal. This fuel would account for 57% of Poland's electricity production in 2024.

CONTEXT

Enea signed a contract in March to purchase six wind farms, as well as a photovoltaic farm. It plans to buy another portfolio of wind farms at different stages of development with a capacity total of approximately 33 MW and project companies, or rights, to photovoltaic farm with a capacity total of approximately 40 MW in the coming months.

KEY QUOTES

"Change the production mix is important to us. "Changing the production mix is a priority for us. We continue to look for new opportunities and speak to owners and developers who are involved in renewable energy projects. This will help us to effectively grow our emission-free sources of production," said CEO Grzegorzkinelski.

By the Numbers

Enea's revenue for the quarter fell by 9.5%, to 7.59 billion Zlotys.

The net profit for the year rose by 3.3% to 1,05 billion zlotys.

The capital expenditures for the third quarter totaled 618,3 million zlotys.

(source: Reuters)