WARSAW (Reuters) – Polish power utility Tauron confirmed its earlier estimates on Wednesday, swinging to a net loss in the second quarter on impairments of assets in the generation and heat businesses.
BY THE NUMBERSTauron’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) came in at 1.59 billion zlotys, down 22% on the year.
Its quarterly net result slid to a 1.38 billion zloty loss from a profit of 839 million zlotys a year ago, after 1.6 billion zlotys of write-downs on fixed assets in the troubled segments.
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT
Some ageing coal-fired power units owned by Tauron are receiving capacity payments approved by the European Union under a system that expires at the end of 2025. The company has said the units face closures after that date unless an economic solution is found that allows them to continue operating.
CONTEXT
Tauron, along with other Polish state-controlled utilities, is under pressure from falling profitability at its core coal-fired power generation fleet, having to cope with the cost of carbon emission rights and the growing share of electricity output being taken by renewables.
The government is working on a plan to spin off coal-fired power plants from utilities to increase the focus on green energy, as banks seek to avoid financing coal-dependent companies.
(Reporting by Marek Strzelecki; Additional reporting by Mateusz Rabiega; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
