Operating income: BRL413 million, 6.2% increase in relation to the first quarter of 2008.
EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization): BRL468 million.
Return on net equity: 3.4%.
Total power consumption billed by COPEL to captive customers in the first quarter of 2009 rose by 2.6% over the first quarter of 2008. COPEL’s total market expanded by 1.8%.
Net Income:
In the first quarter of 2009, COPEL recorded net income of BRL272.1 million, which corresponded to BRL0.99 per share.
Dividends and Interest on Capital:
At the fifty fourth General Shareholders’ Meeting, held on April 23, 2009, the following distribution of dividends and interest on capital for year 2008 was approved:
Dividends: BRL33.8 million.
Interest on Capital: BRL228.0 million.
The amounts to be distributed as dividends and interest on capital for each class of share are as follows:
Common Shares (ON) = BRL0.91 per share.
Class A Preferred Shares (PNA) = BRL1.63 per share.
Class B Preferred Shares (PNB) = BRL1.00 per share.
Purchase of power from biogas:
On February 3, 2009, COPEL signed the first contracts ever in the Brazilian power industry for the purchase of power generated through the biodigestion of organic waste. Testing began in 2007 with the goal of reducing environmental impacts and studying the technical and economic feasibility of the installation of biodigestors in rural properties. The company signed a total of six contracts, amounting to installed capacity of up to 524 kW (which is enough to supply one hundred average-consumption households), with four producers: Sanepar, Cooperativa Lar, Granja Colombari, and Star Milk. These contracts will be in effect until the end of 2012.
Operating Revenues:
In the first quarter of 2009, net operating revenue was BRL1,356.6 million, 3.2% higher than the BRL1,314.6 million in the same period of 2008. The main factors behind this increase were:
The 4.7% increase in the account “electricity sales to final customers” (which reflects only the sale of energy, excluding COPEL’s distribution grid tariff – TUSD), mainly due to the market growth;
The 5.7% increase in the account “electricity sales to distributors”, due to:
The billing, from January 2009, of the new energy sale agreements in the 4th energy auction held (average of 245 megawatt from 2009 through 2016) and
The higher revenue from short-term electricity billing, which was partially offset by lower energy sales on bilateral agreements (termination of agreements with Celesc) and reduced revenue from distributors in Parana.
The 2.3% increase in “use of transmission grid”, which is composed of the distribution grid tariff, the basic transmission network and the network connection revenue, chiefly due to the increase in transmission grid charges;
The 34.2% upturn in “telecom revenues” thanks to new clients and the higher volume of services provided to existing clients;
The 4.7% decrease in “piped gas distribution” resulting from the tariff adjustment in the period; and
The 28.9% increase in “other operating revenues”, mainly due to the higher revenue from rent and from UEG Araucaria’s provision of operation and maintenance services.
