Yesterday (December 4), CEZ signed the EUR1.2bn contract to build a new 660MW coal power plant, upgrade the existing 300MW power plant and extension of the coal mine in Gacko. The total new capacity of 960MW represents c7% of CEZ group’s current installed capacity. Note that this is a joint-venture with the Serbian state company ERS where CEZ will control 51% and provide the EUR1.2bn investment while the state ERS provides the current 300MW power plant and the coal mine. The whole project should last 5 years and will be financed from CEZ’s cash and debt.
Our view: Despite the signing of the deal was expected, we believe that the project should have positive impact on CEZ given the current low consumption of electricity per capita is at c1,967KWh compared to the Czech Republic of 5,520 KWh offering substantial potential. Assuming CEZ will achieve at least 20% return on the investment, the JV could add cCZK11 per share to our valuation. We reiterate our Buy recommendation.