Cesp posts 2004 earnings of US$12mn

São Paulo state power generator Cesp posted net profits of 34.1mn reais (US$12mn) in 2004, down from 628mn reais in 2003, the company said in a statement to the São Paulo stock exchange. Gross revenue rose to 2.13bn reais in 2004 from 1.92bn reais the previous year and operating profits were 196mn reais, down from 1.15bn reais in 2003, the company said. Ebitda rose to 1.47bn reais in 2004 from 1.36bn reais in 2003. The company's debt rose to 10.2bn reais in 2004 from 10.1bn reais at the end of 2003. The debt did not rise further because of the 8% appreciation of the local currency against the US dollar that had a positive effect on 56% of the total debt. Cesp nevertheless posted a financial loss of 764mn reais in 2004 compared with 889mn reais in 2003. The company's revenue rose as a result of higher power sales because of the country's continued economic recovery and as Cesp settled bilateral non-regulated contracts with large clients through several auctions that it held in the year. The company sold a total of 3,452MW, or 88% of all the power it had available to sell in 2004. In the federal government's existing power auction on December 7, Cesp signed eight-year power sale contracts of 1,998MW at prices ranging from 1.5-8% above the average prices for the auction. The company will deliver 800MW this year, 1,179MW next year and 20MW in 2007. Cesp's installed capacity in 2004 remained unchanged from the previous year at 7,456MW, which is equivalent to 3,916MW of guaranteed power. The company does not plan to expand its generation capacity but rather to invest only in maintenance and environmental protection programs, the statement said. Cesp is controlled by the São Paulo state government and produces about 59% of all the power in the state and supplies 37% of the state's power consumption. São Paulo is Brazil's largest and most populous state.