Lenenergo Announces Profit Fall of Almost 5%

St. Petersburg electricity company Lenenergo saw its profits fall by 4.9% to USD 13.7 million in the first quarter of 2003. The company's press office today announced that its pre-tax profits for this period fell by 6.5% in comparison to the same period last year to USD 18.8 million. In the first quarter of 2003 Lenenergo's income rose by 32.2% to USD 259 million.

In the first quarter of 2003 Lenenergo increased electricity supply by 8.8% compared to the same period last year to 7.125 billion KW/h. The amount of electricity generated by the company fell by 24.9% to 3.92 billion KW/h. This was due to the end of an agreement with UES of Russia to lease the Kirishi hydroelectric power plant and meant that Lenenergo had to increase electricity purchases by 67.6% to 4.93 billion KW/h.

UES of Russia holds a 49% stake in Lenenergo, and foreign investors own over 30%. The largest foreign investor is Finnish company Fortum, with 15.7% of the company's shares.

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