The Czech Sphinx set for £650m dividend

A CZECH billionaire with major stakes in Royal Mail is in line to pocket over £650m after his energy company cashed in on surging power prices in Europe.

Daniel Kretinsky, known in City circles as the Czech Sphinx due to his inscrutable approach to investing, saw dividends surge from his company Energeticky a prumyslovy holding (EPH) following a jump in earnings.

EPH controls energy assets across Europe and is a major player in the UK, owning sites including Ballylumford, Northern Ireland’s largest gas-fired power station, and the Lynemouth biomass plant in Northumberland.

EPH revealed earlier this month that it had posted a profit of £3.3bn for 2022, treble the £1.1bn delivered a year earlier.

Revenues also jumped to £32.2bn from £16.4bn in 2021 despite ‘very challenging’ market conditions as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sparked massive volatility in energy prices. As a result of the increased profits, EPH reported dividends of just over £1.3bn, more than double the £607m doled out the previous year.

Kretinsky – who also has a 27pc stake in West Ham United – controls just over 50pc of EPH, meaning he will receive a £665m slice of the payout. The 47-year-old, who is estimated to have seen his net worth almost double this year to £7.4bn, is the largest shareholder in Royal Mail’s parent company International Distributions Services, controlling a 25pc stake through his vehicle Vesa Equity.

He is also major shareholder in Sainsbury’s, owning almost a 10pc stake in the supermarket chain worth around £665m.