Enea expects zł.3 billion from IPO

Energy group Enea is aiming to earn some zł.3 billion - about $1.3 million - from its IPO in October despite the current market turmoil, the company's president said last week.

"We did not change our assumptions for income from the issue," Enea president Paweł Mortas told reporters. "We still want to raise zł.3 billion."

Enea's issue prospectus was approved by regulators last Thursday. The company, which sells 17 TWh of electricity and controls 15 percent of the Polish power market, is scheduled to debut on the WSE on October 31, when it will issue about 30 percent of its shares.

Upon its listing on the WSE, Enea would become the second power company in the CEE region to go public after Czech energy giant CEZ, which is listed on both the Prague and Warsaw stock exchanges.

Funds from the issue will go towards investment in power generation and distribution, all of which will cost over zł.11 billion

"The main purpose of our share issue is spending on two units of 1,000 MW each, which we estimate at zł.10 billion," said Jacek Piątkowski, the firm's chief financial officer.

"Apart from that we also have investments in a new distribution network and renewable energy worth around zł.1.5 billion," he added.

The company plans to pay between 30 and 60 percent of its profits out in dividends, Mortas said, but did not reveal when the payouts would start.

Last year Enea posted zł.520 million in net profit on zł.5.5 billion in revenues. However, the bottom line was boosted by a one-off tax gain and earnings may be lower in 2008, Mortas added.

The state plans to sell off the rest of its shares in Enea in 2009. (Reuters)