Polish energy firms slide after govt drops coal merger idea

Enea SA

10/04/2024 09:19

** Poland's WIG Energy Index  .ENER  drops as much as nearly
7% after the government decided to drop plans to separate
coal-fired power plants into a special company
    ** "The problem of coal assets would not be solved, but only
transferred to the state treasury," Minister of Industry Marzena
Czernacka said in an interview published in Rzeczpospolita daily
    ** She said the government is considering merging the power
plants with mines instead
    ** "Permanent contractual ties between energy groups and
mines could pose a risk to performance in the medium and long
term," Trigon analyst Michal Kozak writes in a note
    ** He also notes the government has abandoned the idea of
selling Enea's stake in Bogdanka coal mine to the treasury
    ** Petr Bártek from Erste Group says that while utilities
might be able to get debt financing for renewable energy sources
expansion, shareholders will likely still be exposed to the
loss-making hard coal business
    ** "We see the idea as negative for PGE, Enea and Tauron
until there are more details," Bártek adds
    ** PGE shares  PGE.WA  are down 7.6%, Tauron  TPE.WA  3.7%
and Enea  ENAE.WA  10.2% as of 0816 GTM

 (Reporting by Marta Maciag)
 ((Marta.Maciag@thomsonreuters.com;))