Results due soon electricity prices only fell slightly recently boith DRX and BGY very volotile as brokers continue to change their minds i'm in and staying with good growth and 5%= yield protecting price

Results due 8/3 so expect some gains running up to that......


Drax Group PLC
01 February 2007


1 February 2007


DRAX GROUP PLC
('Drax')
(Symbol:DRX)

NOTICE OF RESULTS

Further to the reference made in the Trading Update released on 13 December
2006, Drax confirms that it will be announcing its preliminary results for the
year ended 31 December 2006 on Thursday 8 March 2007.

Drax also advises that the date set for its 2007 Annual General Meeting is
Thursday 26 April 2007.

Wow just seen this.

UK Government Scraps Climate Change Levy, Reiterates North Sea Support

Thanks skinny .

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4f1e2e2e-258e-11e5-9c4e-a775d2b173ca.html#axzz3f853Lggf

Shares in Drax, the power utility switching from burning coal to wood pellets, tumbled on Wednesday after a climate change tax exemption was abruptly scrapped.
The stock closed 28 per cent lower after chancellor George Osborne said the government would remove the Climate Change Levy exemption for renewably sourced electricity from August 1.



Drax said the move, which is estimated to save £450m in the current financial year and £900m by 2020, could reduce its revenues by about £30m this year and £60m in 2016.
“We are surprised and disappointed at this retrospective change to a support regime which has been in place since 2001 specifically to encourage green energy and support renewable investment decisions,” said Dorothy Thompson, Drax chief executive.
Analysts said the decision was likely to have a noticeable impact on Drax’s revenues, even though the government suggested it was aimed at foreign generators supplying power through electricity interconnectors that link the UK with France and other nations.
Mr Osborne said: “Now we have a long-term framework for investment in renewable energy in place, we will remove the outdated Climate Change Levy exemption for renewable electricity that has seen taxpayer money benefiting electricity generation abroad.”
The Climate Change Levy was introduced in 2001 to encourage businesses to cut their greenhouse gas emissions and become more energy efficient.
Renewable power companies such as Drax receive Levy Exemption Certificates, worth about £4 a megawatt hour, providing an additional source of income on top of electricity generation revenues.
There had been industry rumours that the certificate scheme could end at some point in the future. “But I don’t think people expected it to be completely withdrawn with less than a month’s notice,” said Frank Gordon, senior policy analyst at the Renewable Energy Association.
“What business can make long-term investment decisions when one of its major revenue sources can be withdrawn at less than a month’s notice?”
Some financial analysts questioned the government’s move, noting more than 70 per cent of the income from the exemption currently went to UK generators, not those based abroad.
John Musk of RBC Capital Markets likened it to using “a sledgehammer to crack a nut”
Drax has already converted some boilers at its Yorkshire coal power station, one of the biggest in Europe, to allow them to burn wood pellets instead of fossil fuel and has plans for further conversion work.
Renewable energy industry trade groups said the decision was insupportable for clean power investors.
“Yet again the government is moving the goalposts, pushing some marginal projects from profit into loss,” said RenewableUK’s director of policy, Gordon Edge. “It’s another example of this government’s unfair, illogical and obsessive attacks on renewables.”
Environmental campaigners said the chancellor’s decision was at odds with the government’s claim it supported a strong climate change action.
“This is totally bizarre, making renewable electricity pay a carbon tax is completely counterproductive — like making apple juice pay an alcohol tax,” said Friends of the Earth senior economics campaigner Alasdair Cameron.
“The chancellor constantly goes on about making decarbonisation cheaper, and then makes it more expensive using a tax which was originally designed to encourage clean energy. It’s ridiculous.
“If there are problems with overseas deals or renewable companies which may not be low carbon — like some biomass projects — they can be dealt with separately, but this blanket approach will create only more uncertainty, costing clean energy jobs and investment.”
HM Revenue & Customs said that if the government had not acted, the exemption would have cost £3.9bn over the life of the current parliament and one-third of this would have gone to supporting renewable electricity generated overseas.
“This electricity would not contribute to the UK’s climate change or renewable energy targets,” it said in a statement. “There is evidence that some of the suppliers receiving the exemption are already in receipt of subsidies in their own country. This does not represent good value for money. In addition the value of the exemption going to support UK renewable generators is likely be negligible by the early 2020s.”

Very funny ,are you in skinny ?

No - unfortunately I'm in INFI - also took a spanking!

Well it's put back 7.5 % today of 30 % lost yesterday so here's hoping .

Buy 265.60 267.00 450.00 300.00 Reiterates

150p before 2016.

StockMarketWire.com
Drax says trading conditions have remained challenging, with further weakness in power prices since its half year results on 28 July.

But Drax says it continues to benefit from good operational performance and, since July, it has strengthened its 2015 and 2016 hedges for power sales at prices significantly above the current market. These factors underpin its expectations for the full year, which remain unchanged.

Barclays Capital today reaffirms its overweight investment rating on Drax Group PLC (LON:DRX) and cut its price target to 320p (from 380p).

Impressive chart.

StockMarketWire.com
Drax has entered into a conditional agreement to acquire Opus Energy for £340 million and four open cycle gas turbine (OCGT) development projects for electricity generation for an initial purchase price of £18.5m.

The final consideration will depend on clearing price in capacity market auctions.

Drax is also continuing to monitor opportunities to acquire further wood pellet plants.

Drax says the acquisition of Opus Energy will be subject to the approval of the Contracts for Difference by the European Commission but says the group remains confident of approval of this contract.

Drax says today's announcement marks a significant milestone in the execution of its strategy, helping it to change the way energy is generated, supplied and used for a better future. Drax says Opus Energy is a well established and proven retail business serving the SME market.

Drax also says it continues to expect full year EBITDA to be around the bottom of the range of current market forecasts.

Chief executive Dorothy Thompson said: "Drax is already playing a vital role in helping change the way energy is generated, supplied and used as the UK moves to a low carbon future.

"Today we are pleased to announce the proposed acquisition of Opus Energy, the UK's leading challenger retail supplier in the SME market, creating a strong and competitive presence complementing our existing Haven Power offer.

"We are pleased that five of our leading shareholders representing over 45% of the issued share capital have indicated that they will support the transaction, and we thank them for their support.

"We are also announcing the acquisition of four OCGT development projects, which will play an important role in helping government meet their ambition of new gas generation, reducing carbon emissions, forcing more coal off the system, providing additional system support to 'plug the gaps' created by intermittent renewables and boosting security of supply.

"With the right conditions, we can do even more, converting further units at Drax to use sustainable biomass in place of coal. This is the fastest and most reliable way to support the UK's decarbonisation targets, whilst minimising the cost to households and businesses.

"These initiatives mark an important step in delivering our strategy, contributing to stronger, more predictable, long-term, financial performance, through greater diversification of the businesses, delivering more opportunities right across the markets in which we operate."

Exane BNP Paribas today upgrades its investment rating on Drax Group PLC (LON:DRX) to outperform (from outperform).

RBC Capital Markets today reaffirms its outperform investment rating on Drax Group PLC (LON:DRX) and cut its price target to 370p (from 400p).

StockMarketWire.com
Power generation supplier Drax Group posted an annual loss, owing to two unplanned outages.

For the six months to June 30, statuary losses were £12m, compared with a £61m loss the same period a year ago.

Ebitda fell to £102m from £121m.

Drax said, however, that other areas performed well as its pellet production business drove down costs and output reached record levels. The company's B2B Energy Supply business continued to increase customer numbers.

First-half pellet production rose 80% to 0.7m tonnes from 0.4m tonnes and cost per tonne fell 12%.

The third biomass pellet plant, LaSalle Bioenergy, was commissioning ahead of plan and on track to reach full capacity in the first quarter of 2019, the company said.

A conversion of a fourth biomass generating unit was also on schedule and budget, and expected to come online in the late summer.

The interim dividend rose to 5.6p per share, from 4.9p per share. Dividends for the 2018 full-year were expected to come in at £56m.

The company said it completed £13m of £50m buyback programme as at 30 June.

Drax said it full-year expectations remained unchanged.

Drax said it was buying Scottish Power's portfolio of pumped storage, hydro and gas-fired generation for £702m from parent company Iberdrola. The portfolio is expected, based on recent power and commodity prices, to generate EBITDA in a range of £90m-£110m from gross profits of £155m to £175m.

Up over 5% at the moment.