CEO of Slovenian electricity producer HSE Viktor Vracar said that the company recorded 2.8 billion euros in revenues in 2021, which is an increase of 55 % year-on-year.
Vracar said that the company’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounted to around 350 million euros in 2021, which is 2.5 times higher than planned. The result is mainly due to the arbitration settlement with General Electric and high electricity prices in combination of the satisfactory operation of its hydro and thermal capacities throughout the year.
He said that, in 2022, HSE will focus on the integration of ECE, a company in which it acquired 51 % stake last year in an effort to enter the retail electricity market, as well as improving gas trading segment and increasing sales to endconsumers.
Last March, HSE reached an out-of-court settlement with General Electric (GE), under which the company received 261 million euros in
compensation related to the involvement of Alstom Power in the construction of the 600 MW unit 6 of coal-fired thermal power plant Sostanj in 2008. GE acquired Alstom’s power businesses in 2015 and the purpose of the arbitration was to reclaim alleged damages resulting from the construction of the unit.
HSE is the largest producer of electricity from renewable sources in Slovenia: in 2020 we produced as much as 88 % of all electricity from
renewable sources in the country. This production is mostly hydro-based, but recently HSE obtained a license for the construction of the largest solar power plant in Slovenia – 3.04 MW Prapretno solar power plant near Hrastnik.
