DTEK Energo forecasts record loss of almost 20 bln hryvni by yearend

MOSCOW. Dec 12 (Interfax) - DTEK Energo's loss at the end of 2022 could reach nearly 20 billion hryvni, which is a record high, CEO Ildar Saleyev said.

"For the 10 months of 2022, the loss of DTEK Energo's thermal power generation is 17.6 billion hryvni. By the end of the year, we forecast a loss of nearly 20 billion hryvni. This will be a record loss for the company," he said in an interview with Forbes Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian media.

Between January and November, the decline in electricity output was 28%, which is associated not only with the damage to energy facilities, but also the drop in consumption by about 30%, Saleyev said.

According to his estimates, Ukraine currently needs dozens of transformers, and the cost of one may reach $5 million.

At the same time, the CEO noted that DTEK Energo already has contracts for the supply of electrical equipment with a number of European companies, in particular, ABB, Siemens, among which the priority is the equipment that can be swiftly delivered.

"We have already supplied some equipment to Ukraine. But this does not cover the need. We cannot order some transformers because there is no money. We also buy equipment from domestic manufacturers," Saleyev said, commenting on the situation.

Besides, the company is in talks with the European Energy Community, other partners and European power companies, equipment from which should be delivered to Ukraine in the coming weeks, he said.

"This is standby equipment or used equipment. It will cover 10%-15% of our needs, unfortunately, the large autotransformers are not on this list," Saleyev said.

At the same time, the DTEK Energo general director noted that the company currently sees an opportunity to redeem a part of the debt (this is the redemption of Eurobonds with the maturity term in 2027 totaling $50 million), which will reduce its debt burden in the future.

"This will increase investment costs, which have risen because of the need for constant repairs. We see that we no longer comply with the limits of the investment portfolio that were agreed upon with the lenders. The lenders' requirement is that the debt burden must be decreased with increased investments," the DTEK Energo CEO said.

He noted that the funds for the buyout are reserve funds, they were frozen for this purpose at the end of last year.

"We spend almost $100 million annually on debt service. We have already spent some of it in the first half of the year. These funds can be spent only for servicing our debts or for their buyout," Saleyev said.

At the same time, DTEK Energo is not redeeming the debt yet and will make a decision on this following a tender, he said.