Announcements

Today, 29 November, the unaudited consolidated condensed interim financial statements of the Latvenergo Group for the nine-month period of 2019 are published.

In the nine-month period of 2019, Latvenergo Group's revenue constitutes 649.7 million euros, which is 7.6 million euros more than in the respective period a year ago. Meanwhile EBITDA decreased by 68.7 million EUR and constitutes 201.0 million euros. The results were mainly influenced by 37% or 803 GWh lower electricity generation at the Daugava HPPs. During the reporting period, Latvenergo Group under Elektrum brand started operation in the electric mobility sector.

In the nine-month period of 2019, Latvenergo Group successfully continued operation on new markets and actively offered new services under Elektrum brand in compliance with the operational strategy. On 29 August, the first public Elektrum electric vehicle fast and medium charging stations started their operation, and approximately 250 charging operations have been done. A new payment method - for consumed kilowatt-hours (kWh), instead of time spent - can be used at Elektrum electric vehicle charging stations in Latvia. It is a more convenient and precise method, so that the customer could assess the battery charging volume.

The increase of the number of concluded Elektrum Solar contracts has been particularly successful (at the end of the reporting period – approximately 230), with significant increase on the Lithuanian market, thus positioning our solar panel service as a successful export product. A significant number of e-shop visits has been achieved since the shop opening in May – more than 250 thousand views. The assortment of Elektrumveikals.lv is developed, ensuring products for efficient and convenient use of electricity - LED bulbs, electric scooters, smart house products etc.

At the end of the reporting period, the number of natural gas business customers in the Baltics comprises 729 companies, meanwhile the customer portfolio in the household segment is formed by 3.8 thousand customers. In the reporting period, the volume of supplied natural gas has increased more than 2.5 times and it constitutes 193 GWh. In the reporting period, the amount of natural gas used for both operating consumption and trade reached 5,326 GWh, which is 11% more than in the respective period in 2018.

In the nine-month period of 2019, Latvenergo Group generated 3,565 GWh of electricity and 1,216 GWh of thermal energy.

The volume of electricity generated at the Daugava HPPs decreased by 37% compared to the respective period a year ago and constitutes 1,367 GWh. The output of the Daugava HPPs was influenced by lower water inflow in the Daugava River, compared to the respective period a year ago– this year it was on average only 357 m³/s, while in the respective period a year ago– 594 m³/s.

Meanwhile, the role of Latvenergo AS combined heat and power plants(CHPPs) in the Baltics has grown significantly due to the substantial decrease of electricity output at the oil shale power plants in Estonia. In the nine-month period of this year, Latvenergo AS CHPPs have generated 2,159 GWh of electricity, which is 17% more than in the respective period a year ago. The upgraded CHPPs of the Latvenergo AS can ensure generation of the most environmentally friendly electricity from fossil energy resources, at the same time efficiently adjusting the generation volumes to the market situation and restricting the risk of increase in the electricity price in situations, when alternative electricity supplies are more expensive. The volume of generated thermal energy decreased by 21%, compared to the respective period a year ago, which was influenced by the competition and warmer weather conditions during the heating season.

In the reporting period, in total 4,868 GWh of electricity was supplied to customers in the Baltics. The total number of customers outside Latvia comprises more than 35 thousand, to whom 1,745 GWh of electricity was supplied. Every third kilowatt-hour of electricity is supplied outside Latvia, positioning Latvenergo Group as one of the largest electricity companies in the Baltics.

In the nine-month period of 2019, Latvenergo Group revenue constitutes 649.7 million euros, which is 7.6 million euros more than in the respective period a year ago. Meanwhile, EBITDA decreased by 25% and constitutes 201.0 million euros, while the Group profit is 62.0 million euros (in the previous year – 82.6 million euros). The results were mainly influenced by lower electricity generation at Daugava HPPs and lower compensation for the Latvenergo AS CHPPs’ capacity payments recognised in the statement of profit or loss.

In the nine-month period of 2019, the total investment of Latvenergo Group remained at the same level as a year earlier and reached 158.9 million euros. 82% of the total investment was made in modernization of networks in order to ensure higher quality services and safety. In the reporting period, 13.8 million euros were invested in the reconstruction of hydropower units of the Daugava HPPs, which will ensure their operation for the next 40 years, and the total estimated investment will exceed 200 million euros over the period until 2022. In September, theKurzeme Ring project was completed, and the total construction costs comprised almost 230 million euros, approximately one half of which were covered by the European Commission co-financing. The completion of construction of the Third Estonia–Latvia power transmission network interconnection is planned by the end of 2020, where the investment will reach almost 100 million euros.

On 27 November, the Public Utilities Commission approved the changes in the electricity distribution service tariffs for a period of 5 years starting from 1 January 2020. According to the changes, the average tariff will decrease by 5.5%. Lower distribution tariffs are possible due to the ambitious operational efficiency improvement programme of Sadales tīkls AS, which includes process improvement and reduction of personnel and the number of vehicles and real estate bases.

The unaudited condensed financial statements of Latvenergo Group for 2019 will be published on 28 February 2020. The unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements of Latvenergo Group for the 6 months of 2019 are available at Investors/ Reports.