Press releases pg. 26

For 12 years, a corporate ombudsman has been available to customers of ČEZ Group companies. During his time in office, he has dealt with exactly 8,600 submissions, recognising approximately every twelfth one as justified. In recent years, however, the ombudsman’s right to request an exception in approach for customers in a difficult situation has played a bigger role in the number of recognised requests than the number of the company’s faults. That was the case last year, as well, when a full 14 out of the total of 23 recognised submissions were for a so-called “specific approach”.

CEZ Group’s operating income before depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) for 2021 reached CZK 63.2 bn, a decrease of CZK 1.5 bn year-on-year, although the Romanian and Bulgarian companies sold were consolidated into the results for a significantly shorter period than in the previous year. EBITDA of existing assets increased by CZK 2.7 bn year-on-year. Net income adjusted for exceptional non-monetary effects decreased by 3% to CZK 22.3 bn. The Board of Directors will propose a dividend of CZK 44 per share to the annual Shareholders’ Meeting. The Company expects EBITDA of CZK 85–89 bn in 2022 and net income of CZK 38–42 bn. The dividend from income is expected to be CZK 56–62 per share in 2022.

• For the first time in its history, ČEZ has put more than 100 stands into operation in one year, exceeding the previous record year of 2020 with 82 stations.

• ČEZ now operates 386 charging stations, whose total capacity has already exceeded 25 MW.

• In addition to large cities, highway charging is also increasing significantly - thanks to better infrastructure, electric cars have become a viable alternative for long journeys.

• The trend for 2022 will be charging hubs that allow 6 or more e-cars to draw power at the same time.

Despite the pandemic and the crisis in the energy and supply markets, the consumption at ČEZ public charging stations for electric vehicles in the Czech Republic grew last year. Drivers at the green stands of the largest Czech network drew a total of more than 3.5 million kWh of certified emission-free electricity. The dense map of points from Mariánské Lázně to Třinec, comparable to the coverage of larger chains of conventional petrol stations, grew last year by a record 110 stands. The network is growing thanks to a European grant from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), funds allocated by the Operational Programme Transport and ČEZ Group's own resources.

• FAIR (Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research) is an international particle accelerator project for research into atomic nuclei and antiprotons, located near Darmstadt, Germany

• Two Elevion Group companies – HERMOS and ETS – succeeded in the prestigious supplier tenders

• When completed, FAIR will be one of the largest accelerators in the world, to be used by 3,000 scientists from more than 50 countries.

• FAIR also has a Czech footprint – the Czech Republic is FAIR Aspirant Partner and several of its large science organizations contribute to the project

• Elevion Group has almost doubled its turnover since ČEZ’s entry

When completed, FAIR will be one of the largest accelerators in the world: a total of 3.5 km of tunnels are planned and eight acceleration and storage rings. The system can accelerate particles of all chemical elements, from hydrogen to uranium, and antiprotons to nearly the speed of light, and simulate their collision with other atomic nuclei. Scientists hope the facility, which has at its heart an underground ring accelerator with a circumference of 1,100 metres, will generate particle beams of previously unparalleled intensity and quality. Here, scientists want to gain new insights for the main scientific questions: How did the universe evolve? How do chemical elements form? How does matter behave under extreme conditions? Why does a person weigh 70 kilograms when all the elementary particles that make up his atoms together are barely 700 grams? HERMOS is responsible for the delivery, installation, and commissioning of building and process automation, hardware and software engineering, as well as the installation of distribution boards. Efficient Technical Solutions GmbH (ETS), in the ARGE RLT FAIR consortium (together with Calvias Gebäudetechnik GmbH), was awarded a major contract by FAIR for a project in the demanding field of ventilation and air conditioning technology. Both companies work under the umbrella of ČEZ.