Press releases pg. 47

ČEZ received a permit from the State Office for Nuclear Safety (SÚJB) for further operation of Unit 1 of the Temelín Nuclear Power Plant. The operation permit is subject to regular ten-year cycles, during which Czech nuclear power plants must demonstrate that they meet all the conditions related to their safe operation. The documentation handed over alone contained 163,000 pages of professional documents.

INVEN CAPITAL, which invests into promising start-ups in the new energy sector, has acquired a minority share in the Swedish company Eliq, using funds from both its investors: CEZ Group and European Investment Bank. The company specialises in developing applications which help energy companies precisely analyse household consumption patterns and subsequently offer customers tailored cost-saving solutions. The co-investor in this EUR 5 million round of investment, alongside Inven Capital, was Contrarian Ventures, which is a VC fund from Lithuania specialising on smart energy investment.

Today CEZ Group officially started the divestment process in Poland. After the market sounding, interested investors will be asked to present non-binding offers. CEZ intends to sell five companies in Poland, keeping only those engaged in modern energy services (ESCO). The divestment is in accordance with the current CEZ Group´s business strategy.

CEZ Group’s net profits for the first half of the year have reached CZK 14.7 billion, which is an increase by 1.3 billion year-on-year. Operating profit before write-offs (EBITDA) grew by 11% to CZK 38.7 billion. The increase in profit is mainly caused by the growth of realization prices of generated electricity in the Czech Republic due to multi-year pre-sales on wholesale markets in Germany and additional profits from commodity trading. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a limited effect on CEZ Group, less than CZK 3 billion.