Ignitis

Ignitis grupė AB
Company typeState-owned enterprise
LSE: IGNL
ISIN
IndustryEnergy
PredecessorLietuvos energija
Founded1991
Headquarters
Vilnius
,
Lithuania
Area served
Lithuania
Latvia
Estonia
Poland
Finland
Key people
Darius Maikštėnas (CEO)
Alfonso Faubel (Chairman of Supervisory Board)
ProductsElectric power
Heat
Natural gas
Revenue€2.549 billion (2023)[1]
€329.5 million (2023)[1]
€286.6 million (2023)[1]
Total assets€5.244 billion (2023)[1]
Total equity€2.263 billion (2023)[1]
OwnerMinistry of Finance
Number of employees
4 402[2]
SubsidiariesEnergijos skirstymo operatorius
Websiteignitisgrupe.lt

Ignitis Group (Ignitis grupė AB; former name: Lietuvos Energija UAB) is a state-owned energy holding company located in Vilnius, Lithuania. The Group’s core business is focused on operating Lithuania’s electricity distribution network (Networks) and managing and developing its Green Generation Portfolio (Green Generation). The Group also manages strategically important reserve capacities (Reserve Capacities) and provides services to its customers (Customers & Solutions), including the supply of electricity and natural gas, solar, e-mobility, energy efficiency and innovative energy solutions for private and business customers.

Ignitis Group shares are predominantly owned by the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania, with the current Chairman of the Board and CEO of the company being Darius Maikštėnas.[3]

The initial public offering was made on 7 October 2020.[4] Ignitis Group shares are listed in Nasdaq Vilnius and London Stock Exchange.

History

Lietuvos Energija was founded in 1991. It was a vertically integrated state-owned enterprise that owned and operated all electrical and heating businesses in Lithuania apart from the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant. In 1997, the company was registered as Lietuvos Energija AB and it was partly privatized. The government kept 86.5% of the shares while 8.5% was privatized to the company's workers, and 5% to the Swedish company Vattenfall.[5] In 2002, power generation companies AB Lietuvos Elektrinė and AB Mažeikių Elektrinė, and distribution grid companies AB Rytų skirstomieji tinklai and AB Vakarų skirstomieji tinklai were separated from Lietuvos Energija.[6] In 2007, Lietuvos Energija acquired a stake in UAB Geoterma, the owner and operator of the Klaipėda Geothermal Demonstration Plant.[7]

In 2008, Lietuvos Energija was transferred to newly established energy holding company LEO LT.[6][8][9] After dissolution of LEO LT in 2010, Lietuvos Energija became a subsidiary of UAB Visagino Atomine Elektrine, a state-owned project company of the Visaginas Nuclear Power Plant.[10] At the same year, the company acquired Lietuvos Elektrinė, another subsidiary of Visagino Atomine Elektrine.[11] In September 2012, the transmission system operator Litgrid and the electricity market operator Baltpool were separated from Lietuvos Energija and spun off to the state-owned company EPSO-G.[12]

In 2013, Lietuvos Energija AB changed its name to Lietuvos Energijos Gamyba AB, and its parent company UAB Visagino Atominė Elektrinė has changed its name to Lietuvos Energija UAB.[13]

In October 2017, Lietuvos Energija acquired the Vilnius Combined Heat and Power Plant (Vilnius Power Plant-3) from Vilniaus šilumos tinklai.[14] In 2018, Lietuvos Energija bought Lithuanian wind park operators UAB Vejo Vatas and UAB Vejo Gusis with a 34-MW wind portfolio.[15] It also acquired a 50-MW wind park project in Poland.[16][17]

On 5 September 2019, Lietuvos Energija was renamed Ignitis Group. Lietuvos Energijos Tiekimas, Energijos Tiekimas, Gilė and Litgas were merged to form Ignitis UAB. Lietuvos Energijos Gamyba became Ignitis Gamyba and Lietuvos Energija Renewables became Ignitis Renewables. Other subsidiaries, except Energijos Skirstymo Operatorius, were also renamed accordingly.[18]

In 2020, Ignitis Group implemented the initial public distribution of shares (English IPO), after which its shares were listed on the Nasdaq Vilnius stock exchange. The IPO raised 450€ million EUR capital while the state continues to control a 74.99% controlling share package.[19]

In 2023, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and Ignitis won the tender in an auction to develop offshore wind farms in the Liivi 1 and Liivi 2 areas for Estonia in the Baltic Sea.[20][21]

On September 9, 2021, Ignitis Group acquired 100% of the capital of Ignitis Gamyba after delisting the later from Nasdaq Vilnius alongside Energijos skirstymo operatorius.[22]

Operations

Ignitis Gamyba (100% stake owned by Ignitis Group) owns the Elektrėnai Power Plant, the Kruonis Pumped Storage Plant and the Kaunas Hydroelectric Power Plant.[11][14] Meanwhile, the Vilnius Combined Heat and Power Plant is 100% owned directly by Ignitis Group.[23] Ignitis supplies electricity through Energijos Skirstymo Operatorius AB (100% stake owned by Ignitis Group)[24] and natural gas through Ignitis UAB. Its subsidiary UAB Ignitis Renewables is responsible for the wind and solar energy projects.[25] In addition to Lithuania, Ignitis operates in Estonia, Latvia, Poland, and Finland.[11]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Ignitis, Integrated annual report 2023" (PDF).
  2. ^ "AB "Ignitis grupė" (En) | Ignitis grupė".
  3. ^ "Lietuvos Energija CEO: Our goal is international presence". Renewables Now. 2019-02-20. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
  4. ^ "Shares in Lithuania's Ignitis Group slip in market debut". Reuters. 2020-10-07. Retrieved 2021-05-19.
  5. ^ Krishnaswamy, Venkataraman; Stuggins, Gary (2003). Private Sector Participation in the Power Sector in Europe and Central Asia. World Bank. pp. 73–74. ISBN 978-0-8213-5529-9.
  6. ^ a b Impact of Globalization to Law: New Challenges and New Opportunities. Materials of the international scientific conference. VMU Press. 2009. p. 58. ISBN 9789955125280.
  7. ^ "Lietuvos Energijos gamyba to acquire Geoterma shares". Baltic Business News. 2007-12-27. Archived from the original on 2011-09-05. Retrieved 2010-10-29.
  8. ^ "Government Approves Establishment of Lithuanian Electricity Organisation LEO LT AB" (Press release). Government of the Republic of Lithuania. 2007-12-20. Archived from the original on 2008-03-05. Retrieved 2008-02-25.
  9. ^ Adomaitis, Nerijus (2007-12-20). "Lithuania agrees merged energy firm for nuclear plant". Reuters. Archived from the original on February 22, 2019. Retrieved 2010-10-29.
  10. ^ Vaida, Petras (2010-07-14). "Visagino Atomine Elektrine gets Lietuvos Energija shares". The Baltic Course. Retrieved 2010-10-29.
  11. ^ a b c "Lietuvos Energija acquires Lietuvos Elektrine shares". The Baltic Course. 2010-10-13. Retrieved 2010-10-29.
  12. ^ Visagino Atomine Elektrine UAB Consolidated annual report, consolidated and company's financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2012 (Report). UAB Visagino Atomine Elektrine. 2013-04-08. Retrieved 2014-11-07.
  13. ^ "Energy group restructuring moves forward with election of VAE Supervisory Board" (Press release). Lietuvos Energija UAB. 2013-07-16. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
  14. ^ a b "Jėgainėms – rezervo vaidmuo, Lietuvai – elektros importas" [The role for power plants – reserve, for Lithuania – electricity import]. Lietuvos žinios (in Lithuanian). 2019-01-29. Archived from the original on 2019-01-29. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
  15. ^ "Lietuvos Energija finalises acquisition of 34-MW wind portfolio in Lithuania". Renewables Now. 2018-11-07. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
  16. ^ Shah, Shakhil (2018-11-06). "Lietuvos Energija to build wind farm in Poland". Emerging Europe. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
  17. ^ "Lithuania's Lietuvos Energija to buy 50-MW wind project in Poland". Renewables Now. 2018-11-05. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
  18. ^ "Lietuvos Energija becomes Ignitis Group". The Baltic Times. 2019-09-09. Retrieved 2020-01-14.
  19. ^ ""Ignitis grupė" įvykdė IPO – kas tai ir kodėl vadinama dešimtmečio sandoriu". DELFI (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 2023-01-13.
  20. ^ Buljan, Adrijana (2024-01-17). "CIP, Ignitis to Build Both of Estonia's Offshore Wind Farms, Plan to Combine Sites Into Single Project". Offshore Wind. Retrieved 2024-11-20.
  21. ^ "Copenhagen Infrastructure and Ignitis score in Estonian wind tender". Energy Global. 2023-12-14. Retrieved 2024-11-20.
  22. ^ "Ownership rights of all Ignitis Gamyba shares have been transferred to Ignitis Group". view.news.eu.nasdaq.com. Retrieved 2023-01-13.
  23. ^ "Vilniaus kogeneracinė jėgainė UAB (En) | Ignitis grupė".
  24. ^ ""Energijos skirstymo operatorius" AB (En) | Ignitis grupė".
  25. ^ "Regarding the establishment of UAB Lietuvos Energija Renewables" (Press release). Lietuvos Energija UAB. 2018-12-31. Retrieved 2019-02-21.