E.ON posts profit jump after unveiling RWE deal to redraw Germany鈥檚 energy market
German energy company E.ON posted an unexpectedly strong jump in quarterly operating profit, boosted by its retail unit that will form one of the energy group鈥檚 main pillars after a recently unveiled overhaul that involves breaking up rival innogy, reports Christoph Steitz for Reuters. First-quarter adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) grew by 24 percent to 1.3 billion euros.
Earnings at E.ON鈥檚 renewables business rose 7 per cent to 171 million euros. The utility noted 鈥渃ountervailing effects鈥� in the market: 鈥淥n the one hand, its installed capacity was higher than in the prior-year period due to the addition of new wind farms. On the other hand, the sales prices for its power output declined鈥�.
J眉rgen Flauger writes in business daily Handelsblatt that E.ON is 鈥渂ack in attack mode鈥� after piling up losses in three consecutive years.
Read the Reuters article in English and a Financial Times article .
Find the E.ON press release in English .
For background, read the article RWE and E.ON overhaul power sector - German reactions to innogy deal and the dossier Battered utilities take on start-ups in innovation race.