Electrica Group turns to profit in H1 2023

Electrica Group turned to profit in H1 2023, posting a net result of 106 million RON, compared to a loss of 176 million RON in the year-ago period, as per the company's consolidated results released on last Friday.The group's EBITDA increased by 535 million RON to 636 million RON in the reporting period, mainly due to the operational performance of the distribution segment, to the increase in energy revenues generated by the roughly 20 percent year-over-year rise in distribution tariffs; this effect is somewhat offset by the decline of distributed amounts by 8 percent.The company's operating revenues stood at 6.74 billion RON, up 14 percent from the same period last year.The amount of distributed electricity was 8.28 TWh, down 7.9 percent year-over-year. Electrica's distribution arm Distributie Energie Electrica Romania - DEER serves approximately 3.9 million users in an area accounting for approximately 40 percent of the surface of Romania.The amount of electricity supplied on the retail market was 3.88 TWh, down 6.84 percent compared to H1 2022, against the general downward trend in electricity consumption, the company said in a release. Supplier Electrica Furnizare provides electricity for approximately 3.5 million consumption locations on the competitive market, as well as a universal and last resort supplier. According to the latest report of the National Energy Regulatory Authority from April this year, the company is one of Romania's leading suppliers, with a total market share of 17.79 percent and a 10.43 percent chunk of the competitive market.Electrica Group is a key player on Romania's energy distribution and supply market, as well as one of the most important providers of energy services. Electrica serves approximately 3.9 million users and its energy distribution coverage spans 18 counties in three geographical areas: North Transylvania, South Transylvania, North Muntenia; it also provides energy supply, maintenance and energy services all over the country.Since July 2014, Electrica is a company with mostly private capital, listed on the Bucharest and London stock exchanges.