Italy's Enel net profit falls 17 percent

0 Comments | AFP, September, 2005

MILAN (AFP) — Italian gas and electricity giant Enel reported a 17-percent fall in net profit to two billion euros (2.5 billion dollars) in the first half of the year compared with the same period of 2004.

The decline was mainly caused by the sell-off of its subsidiary Terna, the Italian electricity grid operator, and Enel said that on a comparable basis without one-off items, profits had risen 4.2 percent to 1.68 billion euros.

Enel sold 50 percent of the company in the first half of 2004 and a further 14 percent in the first half of this year.

Operating profit for the group fell 10.5 percent to 3.41 billion euros, while sales grew 12.6 percent to 16.8 billion euros.

Enel also confirmed that the sale of 63 percent of its Wind phone business had been...