By Kakia Papadopoulou
Public Power Corp suffered another blow on Friday after news that its newly-appointed CEO sent a letter to the company’s top officials to alert them in order not to give in to external pressures or interferences for new hirings or personnel matters- confirming once again the high degree of government involvement in the Greece’s biggest utility company.
Although the news did not come as surprise, the stock continued its declining course, shedding 0.4% midday, underperforming the general share index in the Athens Stock Exchange.
Takis Athanasopoulos, PPC’s new CEO was appointed late January. Mr Athanasopoulos served for many years senior positions in leading foreign companies. PPC has experienced consecutive departures of top ranking officials in the last two years, showing the company’s vulnerable position.
“Probably, there are other things behind this warning letter,” an analyst said. Theoretically, PPC should have released its 2006 full-year performance by the end of February, but there is not even an official date announcement for the earnings release yet. Analysts see an around 40% drop in net profits.
PPC is state-controlled, with the state’s direct and indirect stake exceeding 51%.
The government determines the company’s tariff regime and the human resources status and only recently published an announement for some 2,030 new staff. PPC is heavily overstaffed, with its headcount amounting to 26,500, while its overall needs do not justify more than 20, 000 employees.
However, Greece’s high unemployment rates especially ahead of early national elections underscore the reasoning for such moves by the state. Commentators see elections taking place in the fall this year instead of the beginning of 2008.