Romania's Hidroelectrica annual profit drops on lower production

(Reuters) - Romanian state-owned power producer Hidroelectrica reported a fall of 35% in yearly net profit on Wednesday, citing lower electricity generation, sales volumes, and selling prices.

The company posted net profit of 4.12 billion lei ($868.78 million) for the year ended December 31, 2024, down from 6.37 billion lei in 2023.

Revenue also dropped 25% to 9.12 billion lei.

Deficient hydrological conditions, especially between April and September, led to a 21% decrease in Hidroelectrica's net energy production compared to 2023, it said, with the Danube's flow down roughly 18% during that period.

It added that the implementation of changes to the Mechanism for the Centralised Acquisition of Electric Energy (MACEE) from April 1 last year caused market volatility in prices and trading volumes.

($1 = 4.7423 lei)

(Reporting by Antonis Pothitos; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Rashmi Aich)