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May 14 (Reuters) - Romanian state-owned power producer Hidroelectrica ROH2O.BX reported on Wednesday a 56% slump in first-quarter net profit, citing a severe drought that impacted the flow of the Danube River.
The drought caused a 38% annual decline in net electricity production to 2,654 GWh, marking the lowest first-quarter level in the past decade, it said in a statement.
The company posted a net profit of 589 million lei ($129 million) for the quarter, down from 1.33 billion lei in the same period last year.
Revenue in the first quarter also dropped to 1.87 billion lei from 2.54 billion lei, as the unfavorable hydrological conditions led to a 61% decrease in wholesale volumes available for sale, Hidroelectrica said.
It also noted that although the average wholesale selling price increased by 21% in the January-March period compared to the corresponding period in 2024, wholesale market revenue still decreased by 53% as the reduction in available sale volumes limited its ability to benefit from the rise in prices.
($1 = 4.5598 lei)
(Reporting by Antonis Pothitos; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
((antonis.pothitos@thomsonreuters.com; +48 58 769 65 78;))
