RO electricity group Electrica seeks EUR 360 mln financing

Electrica (EL), the largest Romanian group in the field of energy distribution and supply, has summoned its shareholders on April 28 to approve guarantees for a RON 1 billion (EUR 210 million) loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) and a RON 750 mln (EUR 153 mln) bridge loan from a consortium formed by Erste Bank and Raiffeisen Bank.

The EUR 210 mln loan from the EIB will be contracted by Distributie Energie Electrica Romania (DEER), Electrica's new electricity distribution division, to finance the investment plan for 2021-2023.

The bridge loan will finance inorganic growth opportunities and will be refinanced through a bond issue, the company explained.

Electrica ended the year 2020 with a consolidated net profit of RON 387.5 mln (EUR 80 mln), 87.5% higher compared to the previous year, while its revenues increased by 3.5% to RON 6.5 bln (EUR 1.33 bln), according to the preliminary and unaudited financial report.

The group proposed to its shareholders the distribution of dividends worth RON 248 mln (EUR 51 mln) from last year's net profit. The gross dividend per share is RON 0.73 and stands for 5.3% of the current share price - RON 13.65, as of March 18.

Electrica's shares are up 8.76% since the beginning of this year, compared to a 10.6% increase for the blue-chip index BET.

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