Orsted has increased its earnings expectations for 2019 by Dkr500m following better than expected wind speeds in August and the dismissal of all claims that Orsted-owned Elsam abused its dominant position in the wholesale electricity market in western Denmark.
The Danish company said it now expected earnings in the range of Dkr16bn to Dkr17bn, following the dropping of the case as it had made a provision of Dkr 298m plus litigation interest from the commencement of the action to cover any damages.
The dismissal refers to a period in the second half of 2003 and all of 2004, and has been dropped following the Danish Western High Court’s acquittal of Elsam last year in a similar claim for the period from 1 January 2005 to 30 June 2006.
Orsted said that “in light of the Danish Western High Court’s judgment, the parties have agreed on dismissing the claim that Elsam abused a dominant position on the market for wholesale of physical electricity in Western Denmark in the period from the second half of 2003 and the whole of 2004”.
The court has awarded Elsam Dkr1.5m in costs and closed the case.
“As a consequence, the cases between Elsam and the competition authorities have now reached a final conclusion,” Orsted said.
Orsted chief financial officer Marianne Wiinholt said: “We’re very pleased that the cases against the competition authorities have now been concluded, and that the authorities’ claims against Elsam about violating the competition rules have been dismissed.”
Orsted took control of Elsam in 2005.