CEZ Attributes Profit Fall To Taxes, Power Prices, Unrepeated Gains

Czech state-owned power company CEZ AS (BAACEZ.PR) Tuesday said its 40% annual decline in second-quarter net profit was due to lower power prices than a year earlier, new taxes and foreign-exchange losses, as well as gains in 2010 that didn't recur this year.

Last year, CEZ benefited from a 600 million koruna ($35.4 million) rise in shares in Hungary's MOL Nyrt. (MOL.BU), while this year those shares didn't match the gain, said Martin Roman, CEZ's chairman and chief executive. CEZ last year also gained over CZK1 billion in profit from sales of carbon emissions allowances, which weren't repeated, he said.

Profit was also hit by a CZK2.6 billion annual decline in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization due to lower power prices than in the second quarter of last year, CEZ Finance Chief Martin Novak said.

The Czech koruna's appreciation on year and new taxes on revenue from solar power generation, as well as taxes on the market value of carbon emissions allowances the company got for free, also hit profit, the company said.

On Monday, the company said its net profit for the second quarter fell 40% to CZK6.74 billion.

-By Sean Carney, Dow Jones Newswires; [phone], [e-mail]

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