EnBW is to invest around €40bn in the energy transition by 2030, though expansion of renewable energy capacity as well as in power and gas grids.
It marks the largest investment programme in the company’s corporate history.
“As Germany’s only remaining integrated energy company, we see ourselves as having a special role and responsibility to make a decisive contribution to the success of the energy transition,” said EnBW’s new chief executive Georg Stamatelopoulos at the company’s Annual General Meeting.
EnBW generated an” exceptionally high” group operating result in the 2023 financial year.
Adjusted EBITDA, at around €6.4bn, was 60% higher than in the previous year, which is EnBW’s seventh increase in earnings in a row.
“We owe this gratifying result first and foremost to the outstanding performance and strong motivation of our employees,” Stamatelopoulos said.
“Our workforce is the most important factor in EnBW’s past and future success, which goes hand in hand with the success of the energy transition.”
In view of the good result, the EnBW Board of Management proposed a dividend of €1.50 per share at the Annual General Meeting.
Last year’s dividend was €1.10 per share.
For the current financial year, the EnBW chief executive confirmed the existing guidance.
EnBW expects adjusted EBITDA at group level of between €4.6bn and €5.2bn.
“This is significantly below last year’s earnings, which were partly due to exceptional market conditions that will not recur in the same way in the current year,” Stamatelopoulos said.
He added: “However, our earnings forecast for 2024 is at a high level and above our earnings in 2022.
“This reflects the company’s lasting financial strength.
“With this investment programme, we are doing what society demands and policymakers urgently want to see: As a private-sector player, we are leading the way to make our contribution to a sustainable energy future.”
By 2026, EnBW intends to hire around 10,000 more employees. This includes 2500 new jobs.
“We welcome everyone who joins us in advancing the energy transition,” said the chief executive.