Romanian electricity producer Nuclearelectrica reported a net profit of €256 million for the first nine months of 2024, a 35% decrease compared to the same period in 2023. The company’s operating profit (EBITDA) also dropped by 28.1%, primarily due to a significant 38.9% fall in electricity prices, despite maintaining a similar volume of electricity sales.
Operating revenues saw a sharp decline of 40%, largely driven by a 40.9% drop in electricity sales revenue. This was a result of the reduction in the weighted average price of electricity, which decreased by 38.9% compared to the first nine months of 2023, while the total quantity of electricity sold remained largely unchanged.
On the competitive market, Nuclearelectrica’s electricity sales for the first nine months of 2024 fell by 20.7%, accounting for 45.48% of total sales. The average price on this market also decreased by 55%, including transmission costs, further contributing to the overall drop in revenue.
In addition, the company’s contribution to the Energy Transition Fund for the January-September period amounted to around €22 million, a significant decrease from €412 million during the same period in 2023. This reduction is mainly attributed to lower sales prices for transactions falling below the regulated level.
Operating expenses, excluding depreciation, amortization, and the contribution to the Energy Transition Fund (CFTE), increased by 36.1% compared to the previous year. This rise in costs was largely due to higher expenses related to imbalances on the balancing market, a result of the new invoicing method.
At the Cernavoda Nuclear Power Plant, the two operational units generated a total of 7,970,912 MWh of gross electricity in the first nine months of 2024, with 7,311,146 MWh delivered to the national electricity system. This represents a 4.1% decrease in deliveries compared to the same period in 2023. In Q3 2024, production and deliveries amounted to 2,554,559 MWh, marking a 5.5% decrease from Q3 2023.
The company’s approved electricity production plan for 2024 projected a total output of 10,179,063 MWh, with 7,474,085 MWh expected during the first nine months. Nuclearelectrica achieved 97.8% of this target, while the third quarter saw 97.4% of the planned production of 2,622,661 MWh.
Despite the financial challenges faced in the first three quarters of 2024, Nuclearelectrica remains a key player in Romania’s energy sector, contributing significantly to the country’s electricity supply through its nuclear plants.
