A finalized audit of troubled Public Power Corp. (PPC), the dominant electricity provider in the country, in tandem with H1 2019 results have reportedly provided a fillip to the utility’s quest to remain solvent.
A similar audit by Ernst & Young for 2018, under the previous SYRIZA government, had cast the ATHEX-listed utility’s viability in doubt.
With the results in hand on Tuesday, relevant Energy & Environment Minister Costis Hatzidakis said a “very serious development was avoided, one with grave repercussions for the Greek economy,” a direct reference to PPC’s possible bankruptcy.
Tuesday’s results showed EBITDA down in the first half of the year to 117.5 million euros, down from 182.9 million in H1 2018. Pre-tax losses were 236.2 million euros, up from 154.6 million euros; 204 million euros after-taxes, up from 162.8 million euros in the corresponding period in 2018.
Thankfully, at the group level, losses after-taxes stood at 274.8 million euros in H1 2018, half the losses from the first half of 2018, which exceeded half a billion euros (533.9 million euros).
