ITALIAN power group Enel expects Slovakia's power producer Slovenské elektrárne (SE) - whose majority ownership it will acquire by the end of this year - to contribute billions to its consolidated profits, the Pravda daily reported.
SE's 2003 and 2004 EBIDTA (earnings before interest, depreciation, tax and amortization) profits were Sk14 billion and Sk12 billion (€360 million and €310 million), respectively.
Enel hopes its 66-percent share in SE, for which it paid €840 million (Sk32.6 billion), will produce similar revenues in the coming years.
Enel CEO Paol Scaroni told Reuters, "I expect SE to have annual EBIDTA of at least €300 million."
SE officials describe Enel's projections as realistic. In the years ahead, CFO Ivan Lovíšek sees SE profits growing on the back of new investments and loan restructuring.
SE CEO Miroslav Rapšík said that by 2010, an Enel-led SE will invest up to Sk100 million (€2.5 million), mainly in coal-fired plants in Nováky and Vojany, and in the Mochovce nuclear power plant.
