Bosnia’s Biggest Power Utility Sees 2009 Profit Up 130%, Trebles 2008 Profit - Table

The company also expects to more than treble its 2008 profit to 35.1 million marka from 11 million marka in 2007, as revenue is projected to rise to 890 million marka from 744 million marka last year, it said in a statement. The power utility gave no details whether profit figures pertained to net or gross profit.

Elektroprivreda BiH will produce record-high 7,301 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity this year, 11.6% up from 2007, thanks to favourable hydrological conditions and upgrades of its thermal gneration capacities. Hydro and thermal plants are projected to produce 1,549 GWh and 5,752 GWh in 2008, respectively.

In 2009, the company expects a lower output of 7,028 GWh but higher revenue of 1.003 billion marka after it signed a deal in September to sell its projected electricity surplus next year to Switzerland’s Atel and Energy Financing Team (EFT). The two companies were picked in a tender to buy the 1,660-gigawatthour surplus for which Elektroprivreda BiH will get 137.1 million euro ($192.8 million), it said earlier.

The company said in the statement it plans to invest 1.427 billion marka through 2011 in upgrades, capacity building and new projects. The projects include construction of three hydropower and three coal-fired plants, two wind parks and a water cascade.

Following are details from Elektroprivreda’s 2008 output and earnings forecast and its business plan for 2009-2011:

Elektroprivreda BiH is the biggest of Bosnia’s three power utilities. It operates in the Muslim-Croat Federation, one of the country's two post-war autonomous parts. The smallest utility, Elektroprivreda HZ HB, also operates in the Federation, while Elektroprivreda RS is the power utility of the Serb Republic, Bosnia's other autonomous part.

(1 euro = 1.95583 Bosnian marka)