Electricity group Viridian has said it will meet market expectations in first-half results to be issued in November and confirmed its interest in operating a second generation station at Huntstown near Dublin. Una McCaffrey reports.

In a pre-close statement issued to the stock exchange, the Belfast-based firm Viridian said it was "evaluating the opportunity" to bid for a new station to operate alongside its existing Huntstown facility under a competition run by the Commission for Energy Regulation.

The successful bidder in the competition, which will close on October 20th, will enter a contract with the ESB, essentially securing the revenue of the station for up to a decade. A new plant is likely to cost in the region of €250 million. Viridian's existing Huntstown station was commissioned last November.

Analysts believe the second Huntstown prospect, coupled with a possible share buyback by the firm, will support Viridian's shares in coming months.

Shares in the company closed unchanged at €7.40 in Dublin last night, and dropped 2.5p to 526p sterling in London, where they are mainly traded.

Commentators also highlighted Viridian's continuing extension of interests in the Republic through its power procurement business, which has contracted to sell 170 megawatts of generation capacity to ESB through the North-South interconnectors over the next three years.

The firm also revealed that its NIE Powerteam has won a three-year contract to refurbish parts of ESB's medium voltage network, which should generate revenues of about €18 million each year.

Viridian said it was also anticipating "further market opportunities" in the Republic for its supply subsidy, Energia, when the market is further liberalised next year.