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CEZ Hungary News CEZ Group CEZ was the first European utility to receive the Edison Electric Institute International Utility Award for superior performance

2007. 3. 6.

CEZ was the first European utility to receive the Edison Electric Institute International Utility Award for superior performance

For the three-year period ending December 2006, CEZ Group provided 780% total return to its shareholders. It represents the highest return among all European utility companies. Yesterday in London, the EEI International Utility Award was received by Mr. Alan Svoboda, Executive Director of CEZ Power Company. The Award, which is traditionally presented in the USA, has been awarded in Europe for the first time.

The CEZ's recent success is the outcome of strategic acquisitions in Central and Southeastern Europe, structure of the generation fleet, and cost optimization strategies. Due to CEZ impressive results, it is with great pride that I present the EEI International Utility first place award in the Large Cap category to this very company, said Mr. Tomas Kunhn, the president of EEI at the Award Ceremony.

We are honored to receive the Award from the Edison Electric Institute. This is the first time that a Czech company has achieved such a remarkable success recognized by international capital markets. To receive the EEI Award is not just honor for us. It also confirms that our shareholders are confident that we are able to deliver them superior value. I am happy to see that CEZ has outperformed the other European utilities by a big margin. The second best utility, which actually operates in the region of Central Europe like CEZ, has achieved only half of our growth. This result clearly confirms that we have the right corporate strategy and are able to execute it quickly, said Martin Roman, Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of CEZ.

Best performing European utilities

 Total

Utility Type

3 Yr Total return to shareholders

Large Cap Category

Market Cap > $10 Billion

Small Cap

Category

Market Cap < $10 Billion

CEZ

1.

Electric

780,1 %

1.

-

Verbund

2.

Electric

378,5 %

2.

-

Fortum Oyj

3.

Electric

324,3 %

3.

-

International Power

4.

IPP

291,2 %

4.

 
ACEA

5.

Multi

235,3 %

-

1.

Viridian Group (shares delisted)

6.

Electric

202,8 %

-

2.

RWE AG

7.

Multi

201,4 %

5.

-

Suez SA

8.

Multi

198,2 %

6.

-

Scottish & Southern Energy PLC

9.

Electric

189,8 %

7.

-

Endesa SA

10.

Electric

186,1 %

8.

-

Source: Edison Electric Institute

We are proud to be the first European utility to receive this Award. This Award will motivate us to continue growing and improving our performance. We will certainly continue our foreign expansion in the target area of Central and Southeastern Europe. Several transactions and significant investments are in preparation. We understand that the most valuable growth is the one that does not require new capital. We are therefore strengthening our trading capabilities to extract maximum value from our current assets and exploit trading opportunities throughout the region. We are also very focused on cutting costs and making our operations lean, commented on Alan Svoboda, CEZ Executive Director responsible for Sales, Trading and Business Development.

The EEI International Utility Award is based on peer group analysis that values total return among 35 European electric utilities over a three-year period. While 2007 is the inaugural year of the award, the U.S. EEI Index Award has been awarded since 1998 and receives a great deal of attention from financial investors and journalists.     

Organized in 1933, Edison Electric Institute (EEI) is the association of United States shareholder-owned electric companies, international affiliates, and industry associates worldwide.

EEI U.S. members serve 97 percent of the ultimate customers in the shareholder owned segment of the industry, and 71 percent of all electric utility ultimate customers in the nation.  They generate almost 60 percent of the electricity produced by U.S. electric generators.

EEI works closely with all of its members, representing their interests and advocating equitable policies in legislative and regulatory arenas.  In its leadership role, EEI provides advocacy, authoritative analysis, and critical industry data to its members, Congress, government agencies, the financial community and other opinion-leader audiences.  EEI provides forums for member company representatives to discuss issues and strategies to advance the industry and to ensure a competitive position in a changing marketplace. More information is available on www.eei.org

Eva Novakova, Press Officer, CEZ, a. s.