VERBUND AG (OTCPK:OEZVF) Q2 2024 Earnings Conference Call July 25, 2024 5:00 AM ET
Company Participants
Peter Kollmann - Chief Financial Officer
Andreas Wollein - Head of Group Finance and Investor Relations
Conference Call Participants
Wanda Serwinowska - UBS Group AG
Olly Jeffery - Deutsche Bank
Harrison Williams - Morgan Stanley
Thibault Dujardin - Bernstein SG Group
Louis Boujard - ODDO BHF
Piotr Dzieciolowski - Citigroup Inc.
Teresa Schinwald - Raiffeisen Bank International
Operator
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the conference call on the Half Year Results 2024 of VERBUND AG. I’m Vasilios, the chorus call operator. I would like to remind you that all participants will be in listen-only mode and the conference is being recorded. The presentation will be followed by a question-and-answer session. [Operator Instructions] The conference must not be recorded for publication or broadcast.
At this time, it’s my pleasure to hand over to Peter Kollmann. Please go ahead.
Peter Kollmann
Thank you very much. Ladies and gentlemen, let me welcome you to the presentation of VERBUND for the first half year 2024. And let me thank you for joining today’s conference call. I’m here with Andreas Wollein, our Head of Finance and Investor Relations.
After a record year in 23, VERBUND started the financial year 2024 as a strong, resilient and well-positioned company. But as you know, the energy environment remains highly uncertain. In particular, the most important value driver for VERBUND, the wholesale power price is highly volatile. We have an increase in the second quarter following the sharp correction in the first quarter 2024. And overall, the level of wholesale prices remains higher than before the start of the Russian-Ukrainian war, but well below the highs of 2022 and 2023.
But now, let’s move on to the details of the first half year 2024. At