October 29 (SeeNews) - State-run Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH) group said on Thursday its nine-month pre-tax profit surged 77.6% on the year to 331 million levs ($250.7 million/169.2 million euro).
BEH's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 18.9% on the year to 673.7 million levs through September. Revenues were almost flat at 3.593 billion levs, the holding group said in a statement.
"Thanks to the efficient management BEH reported a 3.5% year-on-year fall in spendings in the nine months [of 2009]," it said. The group spent 2.919 billion levs through September.
BEH (www.bgenh.bg), set up in September 2008, incorporates assets of Bulgaria's sole nuclear power plant Kozloduy, gas monopoly Bulgargaz, gas transmission system operator Bulgartransgaz, telecommunications operator Bulgartel, power grid operator NEK and its wholly-owned system operator ESO, coal-fired power plant Maritsa East 2 and the Maritsa East coal mines. Group assets exceed 10 billion levs and it employs some 22,000 people.
NEK, Maritsa East mines and Bulgartel were the three loss-making companies within the group with a loss of 17.3 million levs, 18.6 million levs and 1.18 million levs, respectively. The three subsidiaries ended the first nine months of 2008 in the green.
The Kozloduy nuclear power plant saw its pre-tax profit falling 5.9% year-on-year to 69.9 million levs in the first nine months of 2009, as one of its two 1,000-MW operational units was closed in September for annual maintenance, BEH said.
BEH (www.bgenh.bg) closed 2008 with a pre-tax profit of 105.2 million levs, down from 218.3 million levs in 2007.
(1 euro = 1.95583 Bulgarian levs)
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