Edenor(US:EDN)2020-03-09 18:51Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - Revenue from sales increased by 10.2%, reaching ARS 18.1 billion compared to ARS 16.4 billion in the same quarter of 2018, despite the deferral in the August 2018 distribution cost update [8] - The company experienced a 51.0% decrease in losses, recording ARS 1.8 billion in the fourth quarter of 2019, down from ARS 3.6 billion in the same period of 2018 [21] - Net results showed an increase in losses to ARS 1,754 million in the quarter, compared to ARS 1,322 million in the same period of 2018 [24] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - The volume of energy sales increased by 2%, reaching 4,745 gigawatt hours in the fourth quarter of 2019, compared to 4,600 gigawatt hours in the same period of 2018 [14] - Electric power purchases increased by 13.3%, reaching ARS 11.9 billion in the fourth quarter of 2019, compared to ARS 10.5 billion in the same period of 2018 [17] - The energy loss rate increased from 17.1% in 4Q18 to 19.4% in 4Q19, primarily due to increased incentives for fraud amid economic recession [19] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - The residential demand increased mainly due to higher average temperatures in November and December, which were approximately 0.5 Celsius higher [15] - The customer base rose by 2.6%, mainly due to an increase in residential customers, attributed to market discipline actions and the installation of over 75,000 integrated energy meters [16] - The reference seasonal price for residential customers remains subsidized by the Federal Government, with subsidies reaching 50% of the system's actual generation cost in 4Q19 [18] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company plans to focus on investments to improve service quality, as evidenced by the fulfillment of quality curves required by the regulatory entity [28] - Multidisciplinary teams were created to work on new solutions to energy losses, and market discipline actions were intensified to detect and normalize irregular connections [33] - The company aims to address the challenges of energy losses through analytical and artificial intelligence tools to enhance inspection effectiveness [33] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - The management highlighted the volatile macroeconomic context and uncertainty regarding tariff updates as significant challenges [7] - The company expressed pride in the improvements achieved in service quality, as indicated by the SAIDI and SAIFI indicators, which showed significant improvements compared to the previous year [30][31] - Management acknowledged the ongoing challenges in normalizing service quality but emphasized the progress made during the year [31] Other Important Information - The company’s capital expenditures totaled ARS 2.6 billion in the fourth quarter of 2019, down from ARS 5.2 billion in the same quarter of the previous year [27] - The outstanding principle of the company's dollar-denominated financial debt is nearly $162 million, with a net amount of $111 million [36] Q&A Session Summary - No questions or answers were recorded during the Q&A session as the conference concluded without further inquiries [37]