A German utility said its trading profits surged in the first half, helping to turn fortunes around after it almost had to be bailed out during the energy crisis.
EnBW Energie Baden-Wuerttemberg AG’s thermal generation and trading segment reported earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation of about €2 billion ($2.2 billion), according to a statement on Friday. That is double the profit from a year earlier and partly due to higher wholesale prices for forward sales of electricity.
Negative effects from the curtailment of Russian gas shipments at subsidiary VNG also no longer applied. The entity was among the worst hit from the energy crisis and recorded over €1 billion in losses.
In December, the utility reached an agreement with the government for partial compensation. The support was about €500 million, but did not include any aid for margin calls, Chief Financial Officer Thomas Kusterer told journalists on a call. That means the company doesn’t have any obligation to pay the money back, he added.
Guidance for group earnings remained unchanged at between €4.7 billion and €5.2 billion this year, the firm said, adding that the final figure is expected to be at the upper end of the range.
(Updates with statement from CFO Kusterer in fourth paragraph.)
