Thanks to the stable development of the operating business, EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG generated overall pleasing results in the first quarter of the current fiscal year 2012 despite the ongoing difficult environment. For example, EnBW’s revenue in the first three months of the year increased by 1.4% on the comparable prior-year figure to € 5.1 billion.
Adjusted EBITDA stood at € 914.8 million, down 4.4% on the prior-year period. This drop was due to the anticipated sharp fall in earnings from the electricity generation and trading segment. In this segment, adjusted EBITDA dropped by 16.6% to € 594.7 million. The permanent shutdown of two of our nuclear power plants as part of the new energy concept in Germany and the fall in electricity prices on the wholesale markets, among other things, also caused a further loss of earnings.
In contrast, adjusted EBITDA developed positively in the electricity grid and sales segment, totaling € 168.5 million, which constitutes an increase of 58.2%. This increase is essentially due to higher network user charges and a lower level of overheads in the sales function. In the gas segment, adjusted EBITDA rose by 3.1% to € 104.4 million. This is primarily due to the rise in unit sales, which increased by 27.4% to 25.6 billion kilowatt-hours. In the energy and environmental services segment, adjusted EBITDA rose by 9.1% to € 77.9 million on account of a higher level of income from other services.
At € 470.3 million, adjusted group net profit in terms of the profit shares attributable to the equity holders of EnBW remained practically unchanged in the first three months of 2012 in relation to the prior-year adjusted group net profit of € 478.3 million. The lower level of extraordinary expenses in the area of nuclear power in comparison to the first quarter of the prior year and special effects, such as the significant rise in the non-operating investment result to € 96.1 million on account of gains on disposal within the scope of EnBW’s divestiture programme, brought about a group net profit of € 561.5 million in the first quarter.
“While the figures for the first three months of the current fiscal year are encouraging, the development of EnBW’s business is still subject to considerable burdens. I am pleased to report that EnBW’s business model is proving to be robust, in particular in light of the significant changes in the environment in which the energy industry operates,” says EnBW’s CEO, Hans-Peter Villis.
As a consequence of the positive developments in the group net profit and the price of securities in the first quarter of 2012, equity as of 31 March 2012 increased by 11.7% to € 6.85 billion. In addition, adjusted net debt as of 31 March 2012 fell by 4.9% on the prior year to € 8.38 billion.
“An equity ratio that has risen by 2 percentage points to 19.1% as of 31 March 2012 and the fall in the level of adjusted net debt highlight the financial stability of the company. The packages of measures initiated are taking effect,” says EnBW’s CFO, Thomas Kusterer.
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Offshore WIND staff, May 08, 2012; Image: enbw