WRAPUP 1-Chile Endesa 2012 net profit halved, Enersis inches up

SANTIAGO Jan 30 (Reuters) - Leading Chilean electricity generator Endesa Chile's 2012 net profit plummeted 47.6 percent from the year-earlier on reduced hydroelectric generation and higher costs related to fuel purchases and transportation, the company said on Wednesday.

Endesa Chile's net profit in 2012 fell to 234.335 billion pesos ($489.6 million), versus 446.874 billion pesos the prior year.

Sales fell 1.5 percent last year to 2.369 trillion pesos, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) slipped 14.4 percent to 833.85 billion pesos.

Endesa's parent company, regional energy group Enersis , saw its net profit inch 0.5 percent higher last year from 2011 levels as the company reaped higher income from energy sales, Enersis also said on Wednesday.

Enersis' sales last year rose 0.7 percent to 6.578 trillion pesos, while EBITDA declined 6.8 percent to 1.983 trillion pesos.

"During 2012, strong increases in energy demand in the countries the group operates in were confirmed: Peru, Chile and Brazil showed growth of 5.9 percent, 5.2 percent and 4.5 percent, respectively," Enersis said in a statement.

Many Latin American economies are experiencing solid, commodities-led economic growth, and the region's expanding, urban middle class is demanding more power.

Enersis, which is the regional investment arm of Spanish energy company Endesa, has generation, transmission and distribution operations in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Peru.

Shares of Endesa closed 1.45 percent stronger on Wednesday, before results were announced. Shares of Enersis also ended up before its earnings were published, jumping 2.67 percent.

Both share increases outpaced the blue-chip IPSA stock index, which rose 0.55 percent.