December 7 (SeeNews) - State-run Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH) group said on Monday its pre-tax profit rose 53% on the year to 367.3 million levs ($278.3 million/187.8 million euro) through October as spending fell faster than revenue.
BEH's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 13.1% on the year to 753.9 million levs through October, while revenues fell 1.7% to 3.954 billion levs, the holding group said in a statement.
"The reduced consumption of energy products of key importance for the industry - electricity and natural gas - in the period January-October of 2009 is the main reason for the drop of 66.8 million levs in revenue as compared to the corresponding period in 2008," BEH said.
The group reported a 4.6% annual decrease in spending to 3.2 billion levs in the first 10 months of 2009.
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 losses of 14 million levs, 1.9 million levs and 1.4 million levs, respectively. Each of the three companies ended the first ten months of 2008 with a profit.
The Maritsa East coal mines significantly pared their loss in October from 18.6 million levs loss a month earlier.
Bulgartransgaz was the top gainer among BEH subsidiaries, posting a pre-tax profit of 75 million levs for the January-October period, up from 39.4 million levs profit a year ago.
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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