In 2022, Nuclearelectrica recorded an operating revenue growth of 103% YoY, an EBITDA growth of 104%, and a net profit of RON 2.73bn, an increase of 163% YoY.
Starting off with the revenue, Nuclearelectrica recorded an op. revenue of RON 6.5bn in 2022, representing an increase of 103% YoY. Nuclearelectrica provides us with the breakdown of their revenue; in 2022, the largest increase came from the sales of energy on the free market. They note that in this segment, they delivered 99.6% of energy sold (FY 2021: 99.7%), and the average sale price of electricity sold on this market was RON 600,15/MWh, an increase of more than double (111% to be exact) YoY. Combined, this led to an increase of revenue in this market of 105% YoY, with the total amounting to RON 6.34bn, making up the vast majority of the revenues that Nuclearelectrica achieves. Overall, in 2022, the total production of electricity amounted to 10.2k GWh, a decrease of 1.7% YoY.
Moving on to operating expenses, they amounted to RON 3.56bn, an increase of 76% YoY. Starting off with the regular OPEX changes first, the largest increase was of course recorded on the “Cost of electricity purchased” line, which more than doubled (+106% YoY) and amounted to RON 513.7m, which is to be expected given the climate that was present in 2022 and still is somewhat present right now. Personnel expenses also increased, growing by 27% YoY and amounting to RON 564.8m. Other OPEX categories also recorded changes, but one that really stands out is the additional tax expenditure. In 2022, according to the “Contribution to the Energy Transition Fund”, Nuclearelectrica has to pay RON 1.09bn in additional taxes (2021: RON 0).
Even with these tax increases, EBITDA recorded significant growth. This is due to the revenue growth, outpacing the OPEX growth. In total, it amounted to RON 3.55bn, an increase of 104% YoY. This would imply an EBITDA margin of 55.92%, a decrease of 0.23 p.p. YoY. Next up, financial revenues amounted to RON 237.9m, an increase of 290% YoY. This growth came mostly due to higher interest income (more than 3x YoY), amounting to RON 217.9m, as well as higher exchange rate differences (+128% YoY), amounting to RON 19.9m. On the other hand, financial expenses decreased by 18.6% YoY, and amounted to RON 29.6m, mostly on the back of lower interest expenses. This resulted in a net financial income of RON 208.4m, an increase of more than 7.4x YoY.
The tax for the year amounted to RON 421.2m, an increase of 151% YoY, due to the higher operating profit. Combined with the additional income tax as well as the positive net financial result, this led to a net profit of RON 2.73bn, an increase of 163% YoY. This would imply a net profit margin of 43%, an increase of 9.63 p.p. YoY.
Nuclearelectrica key financials (Preliminary 2022 vs 2021, RONm)
Source: Nuclearelectrica, InterCapital Research
Moving on to the balance sheet, the total assets amounted to RON 11.8bn, an increase of 22.5% YoY. This was driven by the increase in cash and cash equivalents, which grew by 104% YoY, and amounted to RON 2.68bn, as well as the increase in bank deposits, which increased by 38% YoY and amounted to RON 1.83bn. On the flip side, total liabilities increased by 2.7% YoY and amounted to RON 1.29bn, mostly driven by higher current liabilities, which increased by 21.6% and amounted to RON 805.5m. At the same time, long-term liabilities decreased, by 18.3% and amounted to RON 488.1m. Finally, total equity also increased, growing by 26% YoY and amounting to RON 10.5bn. This increase, in turn, was mainly driven by the increase in retained earnings of 47% YoY, amounting to RON 6.8bn.
