Energy provider EON losses double to €7bn

EON, Germany’s largest utility, reported its biggest annual loss after writing down the value of its coal and gas-fired power plants by billions of euro. Its net loss more than doubled to €7 billion in 2015 from a year earlier, the company said.

That was worse than the consensus figure among analysts for a €6.4 billion loss.

Germany’s shift to renewable energy is hurting utilities as solar and wind plants get priority access to the grid, squeezing margins at traditional coal and gas-fired stations.

Germany’s four biggest utilities all wrote down the value of their power generators in 2015 as wholesale electricity costs slumped.

EON responded by spinning off its fossil-fuel plants into a separate company called Uniper that will be listed in the second half of this year. The company proposed a dividend of 50 cents a share for 2015, unchanged from a year earlier and in line with guidance.

EON reported writedowns of €8.8 billion for 2015, triggered by declining energy prices. The annual net loss was the third in the company’s history after being unprofitable in 2011 and 2014.

For 2016, EON forecast underlying net income of €1.2 billion to €1.6 billion this year.

– (Bloomberg)