CEZ on Thursday reported a net CAS for 2001 at CZK 6.33 bil, remarkably lower than our forecast of CZK 7.7 bil. Apart from higher-than-expected provisions in Q4, the main reason for the discrepancy was represented by deferred taxes of CZK 1.1 bil accounted for in Q4 CAS statements. IAS statements accounted for the deferred taxes already during the year, therefore the full-year IAS figure should not represent a negative surprise as with the CAS results.
Although CEZ announced that 2001 IAS figures will be released at the end of March, hints as to the results, as well as other relevant information, could be provided at a press conference today (11 a.m. CET).
(Jiri Soustruznik)