New Delhi: Net profit at Montenegro's power utility Elektroprivreda Crne Gore (EPCG) soared in the first quarter to 30.8 million euros ($36 million), boosted by healthy power generation, the utility said on Wednesday.EPCG recorded just 235,000 euros net profit in the same period of 2017, when drought curbed hydropower generation and boosted imports, the company said in a monthly newsletter.
The utility said its revenues rose 32 percent to 91.7 million euros and costs fell 15 percent to 61.5 million euros. It said it generated 1,685 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity, up 138 percent from the first quarter of 2017.
"Good hydrology helped the financial result. The quarterly revenues grew 14.3 percent more than anticipated," Chief Financial Officer Branislav Pejovic said, according to the newsletter.
Montenegro's government increased its stake in EPCG this month to 70.16 percent from 57 percent, after Italy's biggest regional utility A2A, which holds the remainder, decided to pull out from EPCG.
EPCG operates around 870 megawatts (MW) of installed capacity.