Drax ahead of forecasts

16th Dec 2009 07:25

Power station operator Drax expects underlying profits to beat market forecasts this year, despite lower prices for electricity, but is more cautious on pricing going forward."Our earnings have been enhanced by both a strong forward contracted position and our ability to capture value from Drax Power Station's strategic position in the UK generation fleet," it said. "As a result, we now anticipate that full year EBITDA for 2009 will be modestly ahead of current market consensus," it added After adjusting for movements in working capital, Drax said that total distributions for 2009 will be in line with current market consensus of £50m."This is a good performance in what remains a challenging market environment. I am also particularly pleased with our contracted position for 2010 which underpins strong earnings and cash generation for next year," chief executive Dorothy Thompson said."Beyond 2010, forward markets are currently weak, although our contracted position for 2011 provides us with a reasonable foundation for that year," she added.