EDP has an increase of 59% in first quarter net profit of 2018 | EDP Brasil

São Paulo, May 9, 2018 -  EDP, a company that operates in all segments of the electricity sector, showed a growth of 59% in its net income for the first quarter of 2018 over the same period of last year, reaching R$ $ 214,1 million. EBITDA (earnings before fees, taxes, depreciation and amortization) reached R$ 644,8 million, an increase of 19.5% when compared to the first three months of 2017.

At the performance demonstrates consistency in delivery of results and EDP commitment to the guidelines for 2018. The beginning of the year was also marked by important achievements, such as the anticipated inauguration of the fourth and last turbine of the São Manoel Hydroelectric Plant, the beginning of the construction of the first project of Transmission of the Group, in Espírito Santo, and the conclusion of the Public Offering of Voluntary Shares (OPA Voluntária) to increase its participation in the Electric Centers of Santa Catarina - CELESC.

"The first quarter of 2018 confirms solid results in each of our strategic priorities. The start-up of all generating units of the São Manoel plant before the regulatory deadline testifies once again to our capacity to implement investment commitments. Once the phase of construction of the three hydroelectric plants is completed - Santo Antônio do Jari, Caldeirão Waterfall, São Manoel - we are now starting a new cycle of growth focused on the segments of transmission, distribution and energy services, " affirms Miguel Setas, president of EDP in Brazil.

Record investment

For this year, EDP expects an investment of R $ 1.4 billion, an increase of almost 30% compared to 2017. Of the total amount, R $ 630 million will be destined to the Distribution segment, in addition to the contributions in Transmission, for the operational improvement of the Pecém Thermoelectric Plant and for the Solar Generation area. In the first quarter, there were R\$ 104.6 million in resources available to distributors, intended mainly for expansion and improvement of the network, and to fight against losses.

At the investments were also directed to the Voluntary OPA of CELESC, completed in April. With the lot of preferred and ordinary shares, acquired from the Bank Pension Fund of Brazil - Previ, in 2017, EDP now has a total of 19.62% of participation in the Santa Catarina distributor.

Early deliveries

At the São Manoel HPP is the third plant delivered by EDP before the deadline, after Cachoeira Caldeirão, in 2016, and Santo Antônio do Jari, in 2014. By the early schedule, it was possible to sell the energy generated by the venture in the Free Market, which earned the Company a sales of R $ 93.5 million until the beginning of the Contract of Commercialization of Electric Energy in the Regulated Environment (CCEAR).

In all, there were more than R $ 6 billion invested in the three projects of Generation built since 2011, expanding the power supply to the National Interconnected System (NIS) by about 1,300 megawatts (MW), enough to supply a municipality of 4.6 million inhabitants.

At the Company is also advanced with its Transmission Lot in Espirito Santo. After obtaining the Installation License for the project, the group began work 17 months ahead of schedule. EDP has also received the Environmental Impact Assessment and the Environmental Impact Report (EIA-RIMA) of the Santa Catarina Line, a positive sign for one more possible anticipation.

General growth

At the volume of energy distributed by EDP in its concession areas in São Paulo and Espírito Santo increased for the third quarter in a row, confirming the scenario of recovery of growth in these regions. The distributors registered a 2.3% increase from January to March in in relation to the same months of 2017, with an increase of 1.6% in the total of customers attended.

At the Generation and Marketing segments worked together to ensure sound results for both. With an assertive strategy for hydrological risk mitigation, the generators presented an EBITDA 7.7% higher than that registered in the first quarter of last year, while the marketer, for the sixth time in a row, experienced an increase of 58.8%.

For the result, the operational consolidation was also important of UTE Pecém, which recorded Net Income of R $ 44.4 million in the first quarter, an increase of R $ 40.9 million in the annual comparison. The availability of the project reached 98%, well above the target of the regulatory framework.

Control of costs and indebtedness

With the implementation of the program Zero Base Budget 3.0 in 2018, EDP managed to further expand its cost control, and achieved a reduction of its expenses with personnel, material and third party services of 5.1% in the first three months of the year, compared to the same period of 2017. Since 2015, with more than 150 initiatives, the Company managed to increase its revenues by R$ 200 million through three phases of the project.

At the holding company debt was also reduced in this period, from R$ 1.4 billion three years ago to just over R$ 860 million in March 2018. With a well-established strategy to optimize its capital, the Group was able to reduce the cost of its debt, from 13% per year in 2015 to 10% this year.