Press releases pg. 33

The largest source of district heating in the Czech Republic is abandoning coal. By 2030, the Mělník site, which supplies Prague, Mělník and Neratovice, will produce heat solely from low-emission sources and will thus significantly help the ČEZ Group itself, as well as Prague and other cities, to achieve their environmental commitments. The first step in the planned transformation is today's shutdown of the largest coal-fired power plant to date, Mělník III. Its closure turns the plant into a pure heating supplier. At the same time, the preparation of the construction of highly efficient steam-gas sources has commenced, with plans to employ other low-emission technologies in the future, such as biomass boilers, heat pumps or equipment for the recovery of energy from waste. These will gradually replace the Mělník II and Mělník I lignite heating plants. The planned environmental measure will not affect the quality of supplies to customers in any way.

Operating results for H1 are in line with the initial ambitions; CEZ Group increases its full-year outlook for EBITDA to CZK 58 to 60 billion and net profit adjusted for extraordinary items to CZK 18 to 20 billion. EBITDA reached CZK 31.6 billion in H1, a year-on-year decrease of CZK 7.1 billion. However, the year-on-year comparison was affected by the sale of Romanian assets in Q1 2021 and specific temporary market effects of CZK 3.9 billion due to the revaluation of hedging contracts for production supplies, mainly due to last year's drop in commodity prices on wholesale markets following the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic to Europe. Nevertheless, we have seen a positive development across all segments throughout the year, which is why we are raising our full-year EBITDA outlook to CZK 58 to 60 billion and net profit adjusted for extraordinary items to CZK 18 to 20 billion as a result.

The ORLEN Unipetrol Group continues expanding the offer of its Benzina ORLEN network with electricity from fast-charging stations. They can recharge e-car batteries with zero-emission electricity in tens of minutes. In addition, Benzina ORLEN offers eco-friendly energy from ČEZ green stations in ten regions throughout the Czech Republic. Last year, drivers charged up with as much energy as would enable 40 trips around the world.

The sale of Bulgarian assets between CEZ Group and Eurohold was settled today, with the latter paying EUR 335 million to CEZ for seven Bulgarian companies. The sale agreement was signed in June 2019 and had to be approved by the Bulgarian Competition Authority and the Bulgarian Energy and Water Regulatory Commission. The sale is in line with CEZ Group's strategy, which envisages exiting selected markets and segments abroad. The international investment arbitration continue.