Net profits rose by 14 percent against a year ago to 8.3 billion koruna (322 million euros, $362 million) and sales jumped by 12 percent to 51.8 billion koruna, CEZ said in a statement.

CEZ, which has plants in Bulgaria, Germany, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Turkey, as well as planning for a wind park in France, is Europe's ninth largest power utility by customer numbers.

"After years of declines in prices of electricity, our results reflect a growth of power prices on wholesale markets and we managed to raise output by 1.1 terawatt-hours annually," said chief executive and chairman Daniel Benes.

The company raised output in the Dukovany and Temelin nuclear plants in the southern Czech Republic by seven percent against a year ago to 7.6 terawatt-hours in the first quarter.

Its coal-fired power plants produced 7.4 terawatt-hours of power in the period, roughly the same amount as a year ago.

"We expect to produce 68.8 terawatt-hours in the full year, of which 31.2 terawatt-hours will come from nuclear plants," said deputy board chairman Martin Novak.

Controlled by the state with a 70.2-percent stake, CEZ has shares listed on stock exchanges in Prague, Warsaw and Frankfurt.

frj/

CEZ