* Net attributable profit CZK 17.46 bln vs CZK 17.21 in poll
* Confirms full-year guidance of 10 pct net profit drop
* Proposes 53 crown/share div vs 50 crowns previous year
* Shares fall 1.5 pct in line with market
(Adds company, analyst comment, share reaction)
By Jan Korselt and Jason Hovet
PRAGUE, May 11 (Reuters) - Czech power group CEZ <>
stuck with its 2010 outlook for a 10 percent drop in net profit
on Tuesday after reporing slightly better-than expected
firtst-quarter results.
Central Europe's largest traded company warned a drop in
power prices during last year's economic slide would cut profit
this year, making it unable to match a record 2009 that had been
earned with forward contracts using pre-crisis prices.
The company, 69.8 percent owned by the Czech state, proposed
on Tuesday to pay a 53 crown per share dividend on last year's
profit, up from 50 crowns the year before.
First-quarter profit fell 8.6 percent to 17.46 billion Czech
crowns ($927.2 million), slightly better than the mean estimate
in a Reuters poll. Revenue dipped a less-than-expected 0.1
percent to 53.89 billion. []
Shares fell 1.5 percent to 915 crowns by 1118 GMT,
outperforming a 2.2 drop in the Prague index <>.
The power group confirmed previously announced full-year
guidance of a 10 percent drop in profit before minorities to
46.7 billion crowns and 3 percent dip in EBITDA to 88.7 billion.
European utilities E.ON <EONGn.DE> and EDF <EDF.PA> also
held their 2010 earnings outlooks on Tuesday, with the German
firm hinting profits may come out higher. []
UniCredit analyst Dan Karpisek said that just as the
recession had a delayed effect due to forward sales, rising
power prices will not show up in CEZ results until later.
"The improvement trend is continuing... and the recent rise
in wholesale electricity prices is boosting their outlook for
hedging for 2011 and coming years," he said.
CEZ cut its production outlook due to less output in coal
plants, as it can buy cheaper power on the market and save on
carbon credits. It expects to produce 4.5 percent more in 2010,
down from an earlier forecast of a 6.3 percent rise.
Power consumption in the Czech Republic, where CEZ produces
most of its electricity, is seen up about 1 percent this year as
manufacturers raise output for recovering export markets.
"With a bit of caution, we can say that the economy is
recovering, that this translates into consumption growth," CEZ
Director of Trading Michal Skalka told a news conference when
asked about the company's outlook.
"So it seems that we reached a bottom, although it is tricky
to say this with certainty," he added.
For next year, CEZ has booked about 68 percent of 2011
capacity in forward agreements by the end of April at prices on
average above 50 euros per megawatt, near current spot prices.
CEZ shares have risen 6 percent this year, outpacing a 12
percent drop in the Stoxx utilities index <.SX6P>.
Karpisek said speculation on a possible extra dividend after
a May 28-29 election have helped CEZ shares. The left Social
Democrats lead polls with 26-30 percent of votes and have
campaigned for a higher CEZ dividend to pay a pension bonus.
(Writing by Jason Hovet; Editing by Hans Peters, Mike Nesbit)
($1=20.10 Czech Crowns)
