An increase in profits and investments for the first quarter of 2024, as well as an upgrade of the operating profitability target for this year, PPC announced today.

Specifically, earnings before interest, taxes and depreciation (EBITDA) on a recurring basis amounted to 459 million euros, increased by 64% compared to the first quarter of 2023, due to the increased contribution of the Distribution activities, the improvement of the profitability of the activities of electricity generation and trading and the addition of the activities in Romania.

Pre-tax profit came to Euro122m compared to €73m in Q1 2023, mainly as a result of improved operating profitability and the contribution of operations in Romania.

Net profits stood at 86 million euros compared to 51 million euros in the first quarter of 2023.

Total investments amounted to 501 million euros, including investments in Romania, with a significant increase recorded in Distribution and RES activities in line with PPC’s strategy to increase the participation of clean energy in its electricity generation mix and the digitalization of distribution networks. Investments in RES and Distribution activity amounted to EUR 420 million, an increase of 123% compared to Q1 2023, including the contribution from Romania.

It is also pointed out that the installed capacity in RES amounted to 4.7GW at the end of March 2024, with projects under construction or ready for construction amounting to 2.8GW, which corresponds to approximately 70% of the power required to achieve the target for 2026.

For 2024, PPC raises the target for recurring EBITDA to 1.8 billion euros, (from 1.7 billion previously) following the strong results of the first quarter of 2024 and despite the ongoing volatility in the electricity markets .

Commenting on the results, Georgios Stassis, President and CEO of PPC stated:

“PPC started the year strongly with strong operating profitability which allows us to upgrade our outlook for 2024. We have increased our investments in Renewable Energy Sources and Distribution activity in line with our goal to become a leading clean energy player, of critical infrastructure and services in Southeast Europe while maintaining a strong financial position. We remain committed to the implementation of the Strategic Plan that we presented in January at Capital Markets Day, leveraging our business model with a presence in the generation and distribution of electricity, which offers us resilience in periods of volatility as well as opportunities to be able to further develop the our operations and create value for our shareholders.”