CEZ announced on Friday that Czech demand for electricity grew 2.3% y-to-y in April. This growth is in line with the 2.3% growth that was reported for the January - March period in CEZ’s Q1/2000 figures. Wholesale demand (mainly from industrial companies) grew 6.3% in April, while retail demand fell 1.8%, mainly due to warm weather and higher household electricity prices. We find the April demand figures encouraging and continue to expect operating growth this year (in terms of sales and EBITDA) at CEZ, after several years of decline. Our CEZ recommendation remains a buy.
(Ondřej Daťka)