REN profits reach €98.4m with 11.1% EBITDA growth

- Net profits rise 2.9% to €98.4m 

- EBITDA advances 11.1% to €389.1m

- Asset base return (ABR) increases 8.9%

REN achieved profits of 98.4 million euros up to September 2012, a 3% increase on the same period the previous year. EBITDA improved significantly to 389.1 million euros, 11.1% up on the same period the previous year.

The expansion of the asset base return (ABR), which increased by around 9%, made a significant contribution to REN's results, reflecting the commencement of new infrastructures, mainly in the area of electricity and the completion of the expansion of the Sines terminal during the first half of 2012.

Besides the increase in the asset base, EBITDA was also positively influenced by the continuous drive to improve the company's operational efficiency, resulting in a 2.5% reduction in controllable operating costs. At the end of the first nine months of the year EBITDA advanced 11.1% to 389.1 million euros.

It is also noteworthy that in the third quarter REN consolidated its refunding process by launching a bond subscription public offering worth 300 million euros for the retail segment in Portugal and in October it agreed with the China Development Bank the terms for a loan of 800 million euros as a result of the strategic partnership agreed with the State Grid International Development Ltd at the time of the privatisation of REN.

For Rui Cartaxo, Chairman of REN: 'The results of the first nine months reflect a continuous improvement in the company's operational efficiency, manifested in the 11% growth in EBITDA and the 3% rise in net profits'.