PPC completes full year with operating profits

Public Power Corporation on Tuesday reported pre-tax profits of 46.6 million euros in the January-September period, from a loss of €416.8 million in the same period last year.

PPC said the third quarter of 2020 was the fourth successive quarter of increased operating profitability, with repeated EBITDA of €238.7 million euros, from €87.6 million in the third quarter of 2019, while in the nine-month period it rose seven-fold to €696 million against €96.9 million last year.

Turnover eased 2.4% in the nine-month period due to a 14.2% decline in the volume of sales, reflecting a loss in market share and decline in demand.

Domestic demand for electricity power fell 6.2% to 41,687 gigawatt hours in the January-September period, compared to 44,435 GWh in the same period last year.

Production of electricity and imports covered 38.8% of total demand in the nine-month period, down from 47.2% in 2019.

Lignite production dropped 50.6%.

Spending on fuel, CO2 and electricity purchases fell by €885.6 million in the January-September period, while payroll costs fell €58 million due to retirement schemes.