Enea invests and grows for Customers

The Group is continuously strengthening its position on the difficult energy market. It introduces new, attractive products and enhances the service quality. Already today, Enea's Customers use the modern website, and e.g. services related to e-service and e-invoice will be launched soon. At the same time, the Company is optimising costs and consistently realising its investment programme. Again, good financial results are the result. In Q1 2015 Enea Group generated PLN 2,446 mln consolidated net revenue - by 3.1 per cent more than in the same period of 2014. Consolidated EBITDA results after a growth by 9.6 per cent yoy amounted to PLN 509 mln and net profit after a growth by 25.4 per cent yoy totalled to PLN 265 mln.

Enea is consistently developing its product and service range for its Customers, providing them with attractive products with additional benefits. In Q1 Enea introduced the following products for individual Customers: "ENERGY + Peace of Mind" (an additional benefit related to insurance) and "ENERGY + Health" (power and an advantageous medical package). It also developed a platform for the promotion of its products and services - energiaplus.pl.

- We are becoming a modern service company. As we announced, we prepared new products. We launched a new portal with a completely new model of Customer Service. Until the end of the year our Customers will be able to use comfortable tools: on-line customer service centre and e-Invoices - announces Grzegorz Kinelski, vice-president for commercial affairs. 

Q1 2015 was a period of an intensive development of Enea Group which spent PLN 597 mln on investment at that time, which translates into a growth by 86.4% yoy. The greatest capital expenditures were incurred in the segment of generation - PLN 507 mln - it stems mainly from the construction of a new power unit in Kozienice Power Plant. 

- Construction of unit No. 11 is on the schedule. We are realising subsequent the so called milestones. Several days ago, on 5th May, the evaporating tower reached its target height - 185.1 m. This year is core for the investment implementation due to the greatest engagement of powers and organisation. Currently, 1.2 thou. people are working on the construction of the new unit. From the beginning of the investment we have already spent over PLN 3 billion on the construction - says Krzysztof Zamasz, president of Enea. 

The Group is modernising the existing generating units and adjusting them to strict environment standards in force in the European Union. In Q1, it e.g. modernised the unit No. 7 in Kozienice Power Plant and completed the installation of flue gases denitrification for the unit. A heat recovery installation from biomass boiler flue gases has been operating in Elektrociepłownia Białystok since 23 March. This is the first installation of this type operating on an industrial scale in Poland. In the area of renewable sources the Group continues the construction of wind farms: Baczyna - 15 MW and Bardy II - 9-10 MW. Existing wind farm acquisition possibilities are continuously analysed.

- In accordance with our strategy we reviewed all the wind farms available on the market. At this moment we are conducting advanced talks as regards the takeover of some of them. We are interested only in these projects which are guaranteed the use of the existing support system, i.e. they are already in the exploitation stage or will be at this stage until the end of 2015. For the other projects, we suspended further talks until the  moment we know the details of the auction system - underlines Paweł Orlof, vice-president for corporate affairs.

In the segment of distribution investments relate mainly to the improvement in the reliability and reduction of the grid failure rates, improvement of SAIDI and SAIFI ratios and development of IT tools supporting the grid management.

Good quarterly results of Enea Group in a difficult market environment

In Q1, Enea increased its efficiency, which is demonstrated by the generated margins - EBITDA margin grew by 1.4 p.p. yoy to 20.8% and net profitability by 1.9 p.p. to 10.8%. The highest EBITDA was generated in the segment of distribution and amounted to PLN 273 mln. The segment of generation's result, after a growth by 42.6% yoy, amounted to PLN 176 mln. The segment of trade reported EBITDA totalling to PLN 50 mln.

Factors which positively affected the results realised in Q1 2015 include e.g.:

• higher volumes of sales of electricity to retail customers by 266 GWh with average selling price higher by 6.3%,
• higher volumes of sold heat energy,
• higher margin on trade and the balancing market and margin on generation,
• higher volumes of sales of distribution services to end users,
• employment optimisation.

Début of corporate bonds on Catalyst market

For Enea, the safe financial situation is the most important. Implementing a vast CAPEX programme the Group upholds the net debt/EBITDA ration on a low level, which as at the end of March amounted to 0.7. Due to a stable financial situation, Enea is guaranteed the financing of the investment programme until 2020 on very advantageous conditions.

One of the available financing alternatives is the bond issue programme up to PLN 5 billion, within which in February 2014 Enea performed the first issue of bonds totalling to 1 billion. The maturity term of the bonds being traded today is 5 years. Their interest rate is based on 6-month WIBOR increased with 0.85 per cent margin. Interest will be paid every six months. The nominal value of one bond is PLN 100 thou. The bonds were today listed on the Catalyst market of the Warsaw Stock Exchange.

- A great interest in Enea's bonds is a confirmation for us that we are developing in the right direction, and the development strategy implemented by us leads to a growth in the Group's value. We are happy that as of today, along with the listing of the bonds, our securities will be available for a wider group of investors - comments Dalida Gepfert, vice-president for financial affairs.  

Enea's financial situation stability in April 2015 was confirmed by Fitch Ratings agency. It affirmed
the long-term rating for the company in national and foreign currency on the level of "BBB" and the national rating on the level of "A(pol)".