OR PPC announced today that it posted another strong quarter following the performance of the previous two quarters of the year.

The increase in investments in “green” projects, as well as in distribution and digitization projects, continued in line with PPC’s strategy to become a sustainable energy company with greater power in RES and stronger electricity distribution networks.

Total investments amounted to €1.6 billion. including Romania, with a significant increase in investment in Distribution and RES activities in line with PPC’s plan to increase the participation of clean energy in the electricity generation mix and further strengthen and digitize distribution networks. Investments in RES, flexible power generation, Distribution as well as digitalization activities, including Romania’s contribution, increased to around €1.3 billion, making up around 80% of total investments.

Installed RES capacity stood at 4.9GW at the end of September 2024 from 3.8GW in September 2023. A significant increase in installed RES capacity is expected in the coming quarters, as 3.8 GW of projects are already under construction or ready for construction or in a tender process (submission of offers).

Lignite production in the first nine months of 2024 decreased by approximately 30% compared to the corresponding period last year and amounted to 2.3TWh, which corresponds to 15% of PPC’s total production. As a result, the intensity of CO2 emissions (Scope 1) decreased by 10.5% compared to the nine months of 2023.

On the contrary, the production from RES increased by 44% in the nine months of 2024 compared to the nine months of 2023 and amounted to 4.8TWh, which corresponds to 31% of the total production of PPC.

Financial returns

Strong operating profitability for the nine months of 2024 with adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) at €1,348 million. The increased contribution of the Distribution activities, the improvement in the profitability of the production activities and electricity trading and the addition of the activities in Romania as well as Kotsovolos in Greece.

Adjusted net profit was €305m compared to €178m in the nine months of 20232. Adjusted net profit after deducting minority interests was €241m from €144m in the nine months of 20233.

Strong financial position despite continued investment acceleration. PPC maintained its September 2024 Net Debt/LTM PF EBITDA ratio at 2.7x, well below the 3.5x limit it has set, with net debt standing at €4,604m as at 30.09.2024.

Commenting on the results, Georgios Stassis, President and CEO of PPC stated: “The strong results for the nine months of 2024 confirm the reliability of our business model with key pillars of our strategy the development of a green and resilient RES portfolio, the customer-centric philosophy, and the digitization and strengthening of distribution networks. We already have 4.9GW of RES in operation, with a significant portfolio of projects under development of over 20GW, of which 3.8GW are under construction or ready for construction as well as at a very advanced stage of maturity. We have doubled our investments compared to last year while maintaining a strong financial position. Our performance to date allows us to confirm our target for EBITDA of €1.8 billion and net profit of €0.35 billion for 2024.”

Further analysis by business activity according to the PPC announcement

Trading Activity

Electricity demand in Greece increased by 5.7%4 in the nine months of 2024, compared to the corresponding period of 2023 mainly due to warmer weather conditions, both in Greece and Romania especially during the summer season. In Romania, electricity demand increased by 4% in the nine months of 20245 compared to the corresponding period in 2023.

The average share of PPC in the supply market in Greece decreased to 51% in the nine months of 2024 from 57% in the nine months of 2023, mainly due to the reduction of the share among High Voltage customers following the expiry of the pre-existing fixed tariffs. In the Interconnected System, the corresponding size decreased to 51% in September 2024 (from 54% in September 2023), while the average share per voltage was 18% (from 44%) in High Voltage, 35% (from 34%) in Medium Voltage and 65% (from 65%) in Low Voltage6. In Romania, the average share of PPC in electricity sales was 16%7.

Production Activity

In electricity production, the average share of PPC in Greece decreased to 35% in the nine months of 2024 from 39% in the nine months of 2023. The decrease is essentially due to the lower production from lignite units due to the gradual ligniteization of the PPC energy mix until 2026. Romania, PPC’s average share in RES generation (wind/solar) was 12% from 14% in the nine months of 2023.

The improvement in the electricity generation mix is ​​also reflected in the improvement in CO2 emission intensity to 0.48 tonnes per MWh produced from 0.53 tonnes per MWh produced in the nine months of 2023.

Distribution Activity

Much of our investment concerns the modernization and digitization of the Distribution Networks in Greece and Romania, which recorded growth for another quarter and reached €721 million in the nine months of 2024, recording an increase of 90% compared to last year. Higher investments are necessary in order to improve the reliability of the Networks and the level of services provided to the users of the Networks.

With the continued implementation of investments in the distribution networks both in Greece and Romania, a further improvement of the SAIDI and SAIFI reliability indicators is expected.

The integration of RES stations into the Distribution networks in Greece and Romania continues at a good pace in the first nine months of 2024, for smaller installations per customer, mainly covering self-consumption.

Telecommunications

Significant progress in the implementation of the deployment of the Fiber-to-thehome network, having already reached 477,000 homes/businesses in September 2024, an increase of 27% compared to June 2024, having already approached the target of 500,000 which had set for the end of 2024. The successful implementation path to date lays the groundwork for achieving the goal of the FTTH network reaching 1.7 million households and businesses by the end of 2025.

Electrification

In the field of electric mobility, PPC remains the leader in the Greek market with its share of public charging points set at 35% in the nine months of 2024. PPC is also active in the field of electric mobility in Romania, with the total number of charging points and two countries to reach 2,925 at the end of the nine months of 2024.