In Q1, the company observed an increase in operating revenues of 18.7% YoY, an increase in EBITDA of 25.9% and an increase in net profit of 23.9%.
As Nuclearelectrica published their Q1 2019 report, we are bringing you key takes from it. According to the report, the company observed an increase of 18.7% in operating income amounting to RON 678m. The increase was mainly influenced by the 23.5% rise in the weighted average price of the electricity sold in Q1 2019 compared to the same period in the previous year.
Compared to the same period in the previous year, the quantity of electricity sold on the competition market of bilateral contracts increased by 9%. The mentioned electricity quantities represented 90% out of the total volume of the sold energy. The average sale price on bilateral contracts in the first quarter of 2019 was RON 241.11 /MWh (with Tg), recording an increase of 18.3%. Meanwhile, the electricity quantity sold on the spot market (PZU) decreased by 44%, whereas an average sale price on this market was lower by 58%.
Also, in Q1 2019, Nuclearelectrica sold around 0.1% of the energy on the regulated market at regulated price, which they did not do in Q1 2018.
When observing the operating expenses, they increased by 8.6%, amounting to RON 255.4m, which could be mainly attributed to the rise of the personnel expenses and the slight increase of other operating expenses, partially compensated by the decrease of the expenses for purchased electricity and the repairs and maintenance expenses.
In Q1, EBITDA increased by 25.9%, amounting to RON 422.5m. The increase could be mostly explained by the above-mentioned rise in operating revenues.
Going further down the P&L, the company observed a net financial loss of RON -17.5m in Q1 2019, compared to Q1 2018 when they observed a gain of RON 19.9m. In Q1, net currency exchange differences negatively influenced the net result, resulting in a loss. This is due to the fact that the local currency, Romanian Leu, has depreciated 2.1% in Q1 2019. On the contrary in 1Q 2018 it was stable and exchange rate did not change. As the company has total loans in the amount RON 884m that are denominated in foreign currency ( EUR and CAD), the FX loss was realized. At the end of Q1, the Company had net cash position of RON 944m as it has cash position of RON 1.8bn, which is all in local currency.
Due to strong growth of operating revenue net income, in Q1, increased 23.9% to RON 219.3m.