The commissioning of new wind farms with a total generating capacity of some 1GW, including Nordsee Ost and Gwynt y Môr, had a considerably positive impact on 2015 financial results of RWE’s Renewables Division.
The unit posted an operating result of EUR 493 million, more than double the amount it marked the year before (EUR 186 million). On the other hand, Conventional Power Generation Division’s operating result dropped by 45%.
Overall, the company posted an operating result of EUR 3,84 billion, down by 4.5% compared to 2014, as projected recently .
“Renewables are increasingly becoming a main pillar of our business,” said CEO of RWE AG Peter Terium . “Besides the operational business, our entire focus in 2016 will be on restructuring the Group to lay the foundations for further growth.”
However, RWE recorded a net loss of EUR 170 million, despite positive results in the Renewables Division and good progress in implementing the efficiency-enhancement programme. These were not sufficient to offset the decline in earnings, in particular in conventional power generation, the company said.
The Executive Board and the Supervisory Board of RWE AG will propose to the Annual General Meeting on 20 April 2016 a suspension of the dividend for common shares for fiscal 2015 and payment of the minimum dividend for preferred shares (EUR 0.13 per share) as stipulated by the Articles of Incorporation. This is due to the drastic deterioration of earnings prospects in conventional power generation and the current political uncertainties, the company explained.
Last week, RWE’s local shareholders raised their voices after the company suspended payment of its dividends in February, and asked for a seat on the supervisory board at the company’s new subsidiary for renewables, grids and retail operations.
“In view of the serious crisis in conventional power generation, we need to take further radical measures,” Terium said. “Substantially boosting our efficiency-enhancement programme will not be enough. That is why, in order to bolster our company, we have taken this difficult but necessary decision regarding our dividend. We are aware that we have disappointed many of our shareholders by taking this step.”
In 2015, the RWE Group produced 213.0 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity, an increase of 2% year on year, and reached a total generation capacity of more than 2.4 gigawatts (GW). This was affected mostly by the fact that both of the units of the new hard coal-fired power plant near the Dutch port of Eemshaven started commercial operation on 1 May and 1 July 2015, respectively, and the expansion of the RWE’s wind power capacity, as well as high wind levels.