Lithuania's Ignitis reports Q1 profit growth thanks to green biz

Lithuanian energy company AB Ignitis Grupe (VSE:IGN1L) reported a 74.1% year-on-year growth of adjusted net profit for the first quarter of 2022, earning EUR 61.1 million (USD 65.4m).

Of all of the group’s business segments, Green Generation was the best performer during the first quarter thanks to the launch of the Pomerania wind farm in Poland and better results of Ignitis’ hydro portfolio, the company said.

The Green Generation business posted adjusted EBITDA of EUR 70 million, up 268.4% year-on-year. At group level, total adjusted EBITDA rose by 42.6% to EUR 111.4 million.

The boost from the Green Generation business led the company to increase its 2022 adjusted EBITDA guidance to EUR 330-360 million from EUR 290-335 million it projected previously, it said.

The green share in the group’s total electricity production rose to 93.6% compared to 61.0% in the first quarter of last year. Since the end of 2021, Ignitis added around 230 MW of projects to the Green Generation pipeline after securing land for onshore wind and solar projects in Lithuania and Poland.

Ignitis said it suspended natural gas purchases from Gazprom in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and it replaced its supply with LNG cargoes. This, along with increase in market prices, put a strain on Ignitis’ working capital, and led the company’s to arrange a credit line with banks with a total limit of around EUR 400 million.

Global supply chain disruptions and workforce shortage as a result of the situation in Ukraine caused Ignitis to postpone the commercial operation date of the biomass unit at the Vilnius combined heat and power plant.

(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.070)

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