* Q3 earnings due Nov. 12 at 0815 GMT
* Profit, EBITDA seen up 2 percent
PRAGUE, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Czech power company CEZ
<> is expected to report a 2.2 percent rise in
third-quarter net profit, with higher wholesale prices
compensating for lower electricity demand, a Reuters poll showed
on Monday.
Twelve out of 13 analysts that provided an estimate for
attributable net profit gave an average figure of 12.57 billion
crowns ($733.8 million), up from 12.30 billion in the same
quarter a year ago.
Revenue at central Europe's largest listed firm was seen up
2 percent year-on-year, as well as earnings before interest,
tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA).
CEZ benefited from selling most of its base load production
in advance last year before market prices fell.
But electricity consumption in CEZ's core market, the Czech
Republic, dropped steeply in the first months this year, hit by
falling industrial production that dragged on power output.
"The main positive factor in the third quarter 2009 should
be a rise in domestic prices of wholesale electricity - 16.1
percent increase in average baseload selling price for 2009,"
said Petr Novak, analyst at brokerage Atlantik financni trhy.
In the third quarter, CEZ also benefited from the inclusion
of results from German lignite mine MIBRAG for the first time
after the group bought a 50 percent stake this year, and power
assets in Turkey, analysts said.
The bottom line will be also boosted by a one-off
revaluation of its 7 percent stake in Hungary's oil firm MOL
<MOLB.BU>, after its market value increased compared to the
second quarter. CEZ revalues stake at MOL quarterly.
CEZ shares have gained 11 percent over the past 12 months,
underperforming 30 percent jump for the Prague's index <>,
but recovering 39 percent from a this year's low in February.
Estimates for consolidated results in billions of crowns:
Q3/09 Average Median Range Q3/08
Revenue 42.38 41.86 40.62-45.56 41.40
EBITDA 20.72 20.46 19.99-22.45 20.27
Operating profit 15.17 14.95 14.45-16.90 15.45
Net attributable profit 12.57 12.16 11.12-14.80 12.30
The following banks and equity houses took part in the poll:
Atlantik FT, BH-Securities, Citigroup, Cyrrus, Deutsche Bank,
Erste Bank/Ceska Sporitelna, KBC Securites/Patria Finance,
Komercni Banka, Raiffeisen Centrobank, Sal.Oppenheim, UBS
Investment Bank, UniCredit Global Research, and Wood & Company.
Note - Estimates for operating profit were provided by 13
analysts, for EBITDA by 12 analysts and for revenue by 11.
(Reporting by Jan Korselt; Editing by David Cowell)
($1 = 17.13 Czech crowns)
