Drax Beats Forecasts Despite Lower Profit, Impairment Hit

Drax Group Plc’s profit declined last year but exceeded analyst estimates, helping lift the shares to their highest level in almost two decades despite significant impairment charges.

Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization totaled £947 million ($1.3 billion), beating analyst estimates for £913.7 million. Citigroup Inc. analyst Jenny Ping cited lower pellet costs and record generation at its main biomass plant as supporting the result. The figure was still 11% lower than a year earlier, which Drax attributed to weaker power prices.