Helleniq Energy CEO and executive board member Andreas Shiamishis on Thursday essentially confirmed the end of a partnership between his company and Italian multination Edison, which for the past 15 years jointly owned the domestic electricity producer and provider Elpedison.
“Our cooperation so far has been good. However, we have different strategies. We invested, for example, in renewables and we want to manage this portfolio, which will reach 500MW this year. The management of Elpedison that we want to exercise differs from Edison,” he said.
The refinery and energy group’s top executive made the comments during a teleconference with market analysts on the group’s nine-month results.
He added that a formal “divorce” should be achieved in the coming weeks and not drag on for more than three months.
Asked by analysts over Helleniq Energy’s 35% stake in DEPA Commercial, a natural gas provider in Greece, he also signaled an exit from the latter, saying the company’s strategy does not include a continued participation in DEPA Commercial.
In answer to a question on whether the 35% share will be returned to the state, he said such a scenario is under consideration by the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (HRADF), Greece’s privatization agency.
Finally, Shiamishis said ExxonMobil is studying data acquired from seismic research conducted in several offshore tracts south and southwest of Crete, with decisions expected in 2025 over possible drilling.
Helleniq Energy has a minority stake in a consortium that has acquired hydrocarbon exploitation rights for offshore tracts in the maritime region.
Jan-Sept 2024 Results
Earlier, Helleniq Energy Holdings SA announced 3Q24 consolidated financial results, with adjusted EBITDA amounting to €183m and adjusted net income to €49m, while for the period they reached €753m and €284m, respectively, according to a press release issued by the group.
The announcement reads:
Performance has been positively affected by increased refining units availability, leading to higher sales and improved operations, partly offsetting weaker refining margins, while Marketing and Petrochemicals’ performance also improved in 3Q24.
Downstream output in 3Q24 increased by 6% to 3.9m MT, while sales reached 4.2m MT (+8%), at the highest level since 3Q16, with exports corresponding to 46% of the total.
On 19 July 2024, L.5122 was passed for the imposition of a temporary Solidarity Contribution, which is calculated on the tax profits of FY23, which exceed 120% of the average respective results of 2018-2021, in accordance with the relevant European Regulation. The extraordinary contribution, on top of normal corporate taxation, amounts to €223m and will be paid in February 2025. The net impact on 3Q24 Reported Net Income amounts to €173m.
Considering the 9M24 results and the outlook for the FY24 period, the Board of Directors of HELLENiQ ENERGY Holdings decided the distribution of an interim dividend of €0.20 per share to its shareholders.
Operating cash flow amounted to €126m in 3Q24, while capital expenditure reached €59m, directed mainly to maintenance and safety projects at the refineries, alongside maintenance and expansion projects at the Thessaloniki polypropylene plant.
Net debt increased q-o-q to €1.77bn. During 3Q24, the final dividend for the fiscal year 2023 was distributed, amounting to €183m.
Furthermore, in 3Q24 the debt refinancing cycle was successfully concluded, while the Oct’ 24 outstanding notes (€300m) were fully repaid. Over the past 2 years, the Group’s balance sheet and the debt maturity profile have significantly improved, as demonstrated by the extension of the average maturity to five years, along with a re-balanced exposure to floating vs fixed interest rates. Furthermore, the current credit headroom, excluding project finance, exceeds €1.1bn.”
Commenting on the results, Shiamishis said:
“In 3Q24 we achieved very good operational performance in refining, with oil products output reaching a six-year high and sales at an eight-year high, driven by increased availability of our refining units. As expected, 3Q24 financial results were affected by weak benchmark refining margins. Nonetheless, the 9M24 performance remains particularly positive, with the Refining, Supply & Trading business contributing approximately €0.6bn (80%) to the Group Adjusted EBITDA, which amounted to €0.75bn. Notable improvement has also been delivered by the Marketing business in Greece and internationally. At the same time, the RES business’ organic growth is progressing, contributing €50m of annual EBITDA in just 3 years from its inception.”
