Polish utility Enea reported a 20% decline in first-quarter core profit on Thursday, weighed down by weaker results in its mining and electricity trading businesses despite improved power generation earnings.
The company said the downturn reflected a strong comparison base from the same period last year, when its mining unit benefited from a one-off insurance payout worth nearly 145 million zlotys. Lower coal sales volumes and weaker coal prices also hurt the segment’s performance.
Core profit from Enea’s mining business, which supplies coal for electricity production, dropped sharply to 26 million zlotys from 389 million zlotys a year earlier.
Its trading division, responsible for retail and wholesale electricity sales, recorded a nearly 67% fall in core profit to 71 million zlotys as retail margins narrowed during the quarter.
The weaker results in mining and trading offset stronger earnings from the group’s generation business, which operates both conventional and renewable energy assets.
Core profit in generation rose almost 16% to 637 million zlotys, supported by higher profitability at conventional power plants, stronger capacity market revenue, improved wind output and better heat margins.
Enea’s distribution segment, which manages electricity grids across Poland, remained broadly stable with core profit of 741 million zlotys. The utility’s net profit for the January-to-March period fell more than 11% year-on-year to 929 million zlotys.
The earnings report comes as Enea accelerates a 9 billion zloty investment programme focused on expanding battery storage capacity, including a planned 1,386-megawatt pipeline.
The spending forms part of the company’s broader 108 billion zloty strategy through 2035 aimed at reducing its reliance on coal and increasing renewable energy generation.