PPC Group recorded an EBITDA of 927 million euro in the first half of the year, up by 57 percent compared to H1 2023.
Total investments reached €1.1 bn, including Romania, with a significant increase recorded in Distribution and RES activities in line with the plan of PPC to increase clean energy participation in its electricity generation mix and to further enhance and digitalize distribution networks. Investments in Renewables, Distribution and digitalization rose to €0.8 bn, recording an 120% increase vs H1 2023, including the contribution from Romania.
Installed capacity in RES stood at 4.7GW at the end of June 2024 from 3.5GW in June 2023. In addition, projects of 3.3 GW are already in the Under construction or Ready to build stage, towards meeting the 8.9GW target in 2026 (90% of the target for 2026 is already in operation or projects under construction or RTB).
Lignite output declined by approximately 30% in H1 2024 vs H1 2023 standing at 1.5TWh, representing 16% of PPC’s output. As a result, CO2 (Scope 1) emissions declined by 8% compared to H1 2023. The reduction of CO2 emissions builds on the positive trend of the previous years with a 57.8% reduction between 2019 and 2023, thus meeting the KPI in the Sustainability-Linked Senior Notes due in 2028, showcasing PPC’s commitment to make its energy mix greener.
On the flip side, RES generation increased by 65% in H1 2024 compared to H1 2023 standing at 3.1TWh, representing 33% of PPC’s total generation.
Adjusted Net Income stood at €228m from €84m in H1 2023[1]. Adjusted Net Income after minorities stood at €179m from €78m respectively[2].
Solid financial position despite the acceleration of investments. PPC maintained a Leverage (Net debt/LTM PF EBITDA as of June 2024) of 2.3x, well below the self-imposed ceiling of 3.5x, with net debt standing at €3,826m as of 30.06.2024.
Commenting on the results, Georgios Stassis, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of PPC said:
“PPC has recorded strong results for another quarter, as a result of the growth path it has entered, verifying the fact that its profitability is moving to a completely higher level compared to the past, supporting at the same time its customers. We continue to significantly invest in Renewables, networks and digitalization of our operations in order to meet the targets that we have set in our Business Plan. We have been able to further mature our pipeline in Renewables, having currently 3.3 GW under construction or Ready to Build, providing us confidence for the achievement of our 2026 target for an 8.9GW total installed capacity in Renewables. For the full year, we feel very confident that we will meet our target for an adjusted EBITDA of €1.8bn on the back of the strong performance in the first half and the resiliency of our integrated model.”
Retail activity
Electricity demand in Greece increased by 6%[3] in H1 2024, compared to H1 2023 mainly driven by warmer weather conditions, especially in June 2024. In Romania, electricity demand increased by 0.9% in H1 2024[4] compared to the respective period of 2023.
The average retail market share of PPC in Greece recorded a reduction to 50% in H1 2024 from 58% in H1 2023, mainly due to the reduction of its share in High Voltage customers following the termination of legacy fixed contracts. In the Interconnected System, the respective market share decreased to 53% in June 2024 (from 55% in June 2023), while the average market share per voltage type was 18% (from 54%) in High Voltage, 40% (from 34%) in Medium Voltage and 63% (from 64%) in Low Voltage[5]. In Romania, the average market share of PPC in electricity sales was 15%[6].
Generation activity
In generation, the average market share of PPC in Greece decreased to 33% in H1 2024 from 37% in H1 2023. This is actually driven by lower lignite production as PPC is progressing with its plan to become coal free until 2026. In Romania, the average market share of PPC in generation from RES (wind/solar) reached 13%, without any material change compared to H1 2023 (14%).
The transition to cleaner energy sources continued with the reduction of CO2 (Scope 1) emissions by 8% which led to the improvement of CO2 emissions intensity to 0.47 tons per generated MWh from 0.59 tons per generated MWh in H1 2023.
Distribution activity
Distribution networks are a key business activity of PPC and one of the key pillars of its strategy.
Reliability indices have been trending in similar levels to first half of 2023, with a slight increase of SAIDI in Greece mainly due to higher restoration time for interruptions. Specifically, in Romania, SAIDI remained stable at 38 minutes in H1 2024 compared to H1 2023 and in Greece it increased to 59 minutes (from 53 minutes). SAIFI remained stable in Greece at 0.8 times and in Romania it marginally increased to 1.2 times in (from 1.1 times).
We are targeting to further improve SAIDI and SAIFI and this is one of the reasons that we are investing significant amounts in our Distribution networks in both countries. The same stands for smart meters penetration, where especially in Greece there is significant room for growth.
The integration of Renewables stations in our distribution networks in Greece and Romania is continuing with a great pace in H1 2024, for smaller installations per customer and for their self-consumption.
Telco
Deployment of Fiber-To-The-Home moves at an accelerated pace in Attica, Greece, having reached 377,000 households/businesses by June 2024, having practically doubled this metric since March. The 2024-2025 construction plan moves fast and steadily, with an FTTH coverage target of approximately 1.7 m households and businesses by the end of 2025.
E-mobility
In the e-mobility field, via PPC blue, PPC is the leader in the market share with a 34% share in public Charging Points (CPs) in Greece. PPC is also active in e-mobility in Romania as well, having a total number of close to 2,700 CPs at the end of H1 2024 in both countries.