PPC: Ventures into Data Centers and a Share Buyback Program of up to 10%

PPC‘s management continues to surprise with its new ventures. As stated yesterday to analysts by Chairman and CEO Mr. Georgios Stassis, following ventures into Kotsovolos and telecommunications, the next areas of business expansion include Data Centers and Artificial Intelligence infrastructure (AI as a Service).

These new sectors will be utilized by PPC, leveraging its capacity to support the energy-intensive nature of Data Centers and utilizing its own land to develop these new activities. Additionally, PPC plans to provide services to third parties.

During the presentation of PPC’s first-quarter results to over 80 analysts, Mr. Stassis announced that the company would propose at the upcoming general assembly in June to continue the share buyback program. The current program, covering 5.6% of the share capital, aims to increase to 10% within two years. The repurchased shares will be allocated as follows: one-third for strategic partnerships and acquisitions, one-third for stock options for board executives, and one-third will be canceled to increase the value of the remaining shares.

High Profitability

PPC presented increased profitability in the quarter with recurring EBITDA reaching 459 million euros, up by 64%, and net profits of 86 million euros compared to 51 million euros in the corresponding period last year, due to increased contributions from Distribution activities, improved profitability in electricity generation and trading activities, and the addition of activities in Romania, which contributed by 17% to EBITDA. For this year, the company’s management is upgrading the target for recurring EBITDA to 1.8 billion euros despite ongoing market volatility in the electricity markets.

At the same time, the Enterprise’s cash flow has strengthened, exceeding 600 million euros, as a result of receivables collection, reduced CO2 emissions rights expenses, and income from hedging.

20 GW in Renewable Energy Sources

The Renewable Energy Sources sector, which forms the core of the company’s development plan, continues its strategy of geographic expansion with PPC’s project pipeline reaching 20 GW. Out of these, the company’s portfolio, developed organically, amounts to 11.3 GW and is boosted through partnerships with RWE, Intrakat, Motor Oil, and Mytilineos. By the end of March, installed capacity in Renewable Energy Sources reached 4.7 GW, with projects under construction or ready for construction totaling 2.8 GW, a size representing approximately 70% of the capacity required to achieve the 2026 target.

Mr. Stassis spoke yesterday about the development in Renewable Energy Sources in different countries and through different collaborations, also analyzing the core of the agreement with Mytilineos. As he mentioned, the agreement stipulates that PPC will acquire parks provided the contract terms are met, which include receiving fully completed and electrified projects. He also noted that the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) for these projects is calculated at 9%.

Mr. Stassis emphasized that PPC is becoming a clean powertech player in the broader Southeast Europe region, combining energy with technology in six steps. This integration includes incorporating activities in Romania, expanding activities in telecommunications and fiber optics, implementing plans in retail through Kotsovolos, developing in Renewable Energy Sources, and expanding into data centers and AI. For data centers, PPC is exploring collaborations with industry companies, as well as in the field of artificial intelligence to provide AI as a service.

In telecommunications, the FTTH network will support 500,000 households and businesses by late 2024 and 1.7 million by 2025. By the end of March, PPC’s telecommunications network had reached 185,000 households in Attica. As mentioned earlier this year, construction of the telecommunications cable linking to Saudi Arabia is expected to commence.

The post PPC: Ventures into Data Centers and a Share Buyback Program of up to 10% appeared first on ProtoThema English.