Energy crisis pushes PPC back into the red on 9M figures

The energy crisis plunged PPC back in the red with pre-tax losses of 85 million euros for the nine-month period as the company's advantage last year arising from the unusual reduction in the wholesale price of electricity was eliminated. 

Despite a 5% increase in turnover to 3.696 billion euros, recurring EBITDA decreased by 10% to 626.5 million euros, as operating expenses increased by 8.7% to 3.071 billion euros.The results of this nine-month period were not burdened by extraordinary charges, as was the case in 2020, for example for the supply of natural gas for the period 2012 - 2019, however the impact of high wholesale prices was so big that EBITDA shrank by 18.6 %, to 576.9 million euros with the EBITDA margin falling from 20.1% to 15.6%.

Pre-tax results fell dramatically from a profit of 46.6 million euros to a loss of 85 million euros, while net losses reached 42.2 million euros, compared to a profit of 12.8 million euros in 2020. Justifying the weak financial performance, the management of PPC describes 2021 as a transitional year and notes that the company is on track to achieve its annual goals. It also points to the reduction of lignite in energy production from 26% to 21% and the positive effects on economic results from hedging for electricity and gas prices.