DEPA,
Greece
’s natural gas supplier, said Monday
first half pretax profit jumped 87% as sales increased amid higher demand.
Pretax profit reached 129.3 million euros, from 69,2 million in the first six
months of 2010, the Athens-based company reported.
Sales rose
28,3% to 754,3 million euros, corresponding to a 20,8% increase in
megawatt-hours to 23,3 million.
Greece
plans to sell as much as a 55%
stake in DEPA in the fourth quarter, as part of a program to raise 50 billion
euros by the end of 2015 from asset sales.
The state
currently controls 65% of DEPA, while Hellenic Petroleum owns the remainder.