Enlarge image
RWE business: In the foreground a wind turbine, behind it the brown coal power plant Neurath
Photo: imago stock / imago images/imagebroker
Germany's largest electricity producer, RWE, made significantly higher profits than expected last year.
In particular, the business with gas power plants, hydroelectric and biomass power plants and international energy trading had developed better at the end of 2022 than last assumed, the Essen-based group announced on Wednesday in an ad hoc announcement.
Based on preliminary figures, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (adjusted Ebitda) amounted to 6.31 billion euros.
In its last forecast, management had assumed a maximum of 5.5 billion euros.
In general, it had long been expected that the gas crisis in dealing with Russia could pose major problems for energy suppliers.
The bottom line was a profit of around 3.2 billion euros, a good half a billion euros more than expected in the last forecasts.
In addition to the high electricity prices, RWE points out that the company has been investing steadily in renewable energies for several years, for example in new wind farms at sea.
This has also paid off in the past year.
Unchanged dividend targeted
In response to the announcement, RWE shares temporarily gained two and a half percent, but gave up most of their gains.
The dividend target for the 2022 financial year remains unchanged at EUR 0.90 per share.
RWE intends to present the final figures on March 21.
Most recently, RWE was in the headlines because the group had the village of Lützerath cleared for opencast lignite mining.
It is said to be the last village in the Rhenish lignite mining area to be demolished for fossil energy production.
Climate demonstrators protested violently against the demolition.
They believe that the argument that the coal under Lützerath would be needed in the energy crisis triggered by the Russian war in Ukraine is wrong.
mamk/bem/dpa-AFX