Polish utility PGE posts lower Q3 net profit dragged by coal segment

GDANSK (Reuters) – Poland’s biggest utility PGE reported a near 24% year-on-year fall in its third-quarter net profit on Tuesday, amid continued weakness in its coal-based conventional power generation segment.

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT

PGE, along with other Polish utilities, is under pressure from falling profitability in its coal-fired power generation segment, having to cope with the cost of carbon emission rights and the growing share of electricity output being taken by renewables.

The Polish government is working on a plan to spin off coal-fired power plants from utilities to increase the focus on green energy, as banks seek to avoid financing coal-dependent companies.

BY THE NUMBERS

PGE’S net profit for the quarter slid to 0.73 billion zlotys ($177.84 million) from 0.95 billion in 2023, confirming its earlier estimates. Revenue fell 28% to 15.56 billion zlotys on the year, primarily due to a decrease in revenue from the sale of electricity in the conventional generation segment.

CONTEXT

In late September, the company announced plans to cease electricity production in the remaining coal-fired units at one of the five power plants comprising its conventional power generation segment by the end of 2025.

($1 = 4.1047 zlotys)

(Reporting by Rafal W. Nowak; Editing by Eileen Soreng)