Rate Hikes Boost CEZ’s Profits 38%

CEZ’s net profit rose by CZK 4 billion to CZK 14.5 billion last year. The company was helped by increasing electricity prices and commodity trading. Revenues increased from 184.5 billion in 2018 to last year’s 206.2 billion crowns.

CEZ Group’s operating profit before depreciation (EBITDA) increased by more than twenty percent to CZK 60.2 billion last year. While Net profit reached CZK 18.9 billion.

“We were particularly successful in the area of commodity trading. The trading result in 2019 reached almost five billion crowns,” said CEZ CEO Daniel Benes. The year-on-year increase in net profit by 38 percent was also helped by the increase in electricity generated in the Czech Republic thanks to multi-year pre-sale on wholesale markets in Germany.

Despite a significant fall in wholesale prices on the stock exchanges in the last quarter of last year, the company expects further growth in profits this year. “We expect a net profit of 21 to 23 billion crowns,” Benes said.
Last year, CEZ generated 64.6 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity, two percent more year-on-year. The Temelín and Dukovany nuclear power plants generated 30.2 TWh, 0.3 TWh more than in 2018.

CEZ is the largest Czech energy company. The majority shareholder of the company is the state, which holds 70 percent of shares through the Ministry of Finance. The voting at the general meeting of the company thus usually ends according to the wishes of the resort.