Swedish energy company Vattenfall has recorded a net profit of SEK 9.6 billion (EUR 974 million) in the Fiscal Year 2017, reporting a positive full-year result for the first time in the last five years.
One of the major contributors to the positive results was wind power which more than doubled its earnings in 2017, Magnus Hall, President and CEO of Vattenfall said.
The wind power division’s net sales increased from SEK 6.7 billion to SEK 9.4 billion year-on-year. The underlying operating profit was SEK 2.34 billion in 2017, compared to SEK 878 million reported for 2016.
Electricity generation in 2017 increased by 1.8 TWh, from 5.8TWh in 2016 to 7.6TWh in 2017. The increase is attributable to the new capacity: the 288MW Sandbank offshore wind farm and the 288MW Pen y Cymoedd and 54MW Ray onshore wind farms which generated 1.6TWh of electricity in 2017.
Looking ahead, Vattenfall plans to invest further SEK 13 billion in wind projects in 2018-19.
The company said that it is prepared for an environment of competitive bids in wind power tenders, which was demonstrated in December 2017 with a bid in the first non-subsidised tender for offshore wind in the Netherlands. The Hollandse Kust Zuid project is located in the Dutch North Sea, and ”the site is a perfect wind area where there are significant synergies with Vattenfall’s NoordzeeWind offshore wind farm,” the company said.
”Wind power made a major contribution in 2017, more than doubling its earnings in pace with the commissioning of new assets,” Hall said.
”Planned growth investments in renewable energy generation amount to SEK 14 billion in the new plan for 2018-2019. Both the wind and solar power industries have matured considerably, with rapidly falling costs and improved competitiveness as a result. Vattenfall’s portfolio shift and increased renewables growth have contributed to a changed risk profile, which is also reflected in our new financial targets.”