Eletrobras elects new Board of Directors this Friday

Almost two months after the end of the capitalization process, Eletrobras elects the new Board of Directors (CA) this Friday (5th).

The extraordinary general meeting will be held virtually from 12:30 pm, with the choice of one name by the shareholders of preferred shares and another nine by the holders of common shares.

The term of office of the group will also be defined, which will have the mission of reorganizing the company after privatization, possibly until 2025.

After the privatization, nine of the company’s ten directors presented a collective letter of resignation, with the aim of initiating the new stage of Eletrobras. However, they remained in office until this Friday’s assembly.

The new Board of Directors will also decide the president of Eletrobras. The market expectation is that the name announced will be Wilson Ferreira Junior, who has already commanded the company between 2016 and 2021.

The executive had been working since March last year at Vibra Energia, but announced his departure at the end of July.

The privatization of Eletrobras has caused a rise in the company’s shares. According to the TC/Economatica platform, the shares of ELET3 and ELET6 have increased by 20.50% and 28.09%, respectively, since their launch on the stock exchange on June 13th.

The first closed this Thursday (4th) at R$ 48.50, while the second, at R$ 50.51, according to data from B3.

In the first half of the year, Eletrobras was still the company with shares on the Brazilian stock exchange that gained the most in market value, also according to a survey by Economatica.

TC Matrix stock analyst Arlindo Souza points out that the company has the potential to reach shares between R$67 and R$75, if it solves management problems seen by the market.

According to the specialist, the expectation is that, between two and three years, the new model will be consolidated, a mission that will fall to the future Board of Directors.

“Eletrobras traded its shares at a discount in relation to its peers, the other electric companies. First, it had a risk perceived by the market due to the issue of having the government as controller and the risk of direct intervention. Now, with privatization, the structure being transferred to a corporation, this risk is much lower, which already leads to a re-pricing of shares”, he added.

For Souza, the change in management to private shareholders indicates that the company will reduce personnel expenses and will be able to negotiate debts more easily. Eletrobras has, for example, R$ 32 billion in debt due to compulsory loans started in the 1960s.

The expectation is that the negotiations for the payment run faster without the presence of the federal government as one of the parties.

Another forecast is that Eletrobras will have more freedom to negotiate energy. The company is the largest energy generator in the country, with 28% of the installed capacity, and is also the leader in transmission, with 40% of the total lines in the electrical system.

“Eletrobras has some hydroelectric plants in the quota system. This regime ranges from R$65 to R$70 per megawatt-hour, when in the free market environment, this is negotiated at R$170 to R$200. In the coming years, Eletrobras will have more energy available to sell for a higher price,” he added.

Pedro Rodrigues, director of the Brazilian Center for Infrastructure, an energy consultancy, believes that Eletrobras will enter a phase of recovering its investment capacity.

“It is already ahead because it is the largest energy transmitter in the country, it has a very strong appeal, it coordinates the hydroelectric plants. The company is a big cash operator, with huge investment potential, but no cash. Now, you will be able to have other forms of financing”, he added.

According to Rodrigues, the new Board of Directors will have to define how the company will grow, whether it will seek new markets and whether it will continue to operate only in Brazil.