RWE’s offshore wind business reported €585m in adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) in the first half of 2020, compared with €490m in the same period last year.
The Germany energy company’s onshore wind and solar unit, as part of its renewables business, recorded €273m in adjusted EBITDA, compared with €244m in the first half of 2019.
Adjusted EBITDA for the hydropower, biomass and gas division reached €324m in the first half of 2020, compared with €221m in the same period in 2019.
Adjusted EBITDA for the overall RWE group rose 18% to €1.8bn, while adjusted EBIT increased to €1.1bn, against €817m in the same period of last year.
RWE chief financial officer Markus Krebber (pictured) said: “The coronavirus continues to cast a shadow over the global economy. But RWE has weathered these difficult times well so far, and this is also reflected in our business performance for the first six months.
“Our earnings are growing considerably. Thus, we expect both adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBIT to be at the upper end of our forecast range for 2020.”
By year-end, the company will commission new wind and solar farms with a total capacity of 1.3GW, even though the commissioning of some assets will be deferred to next year due to the coronavirus, especially in the US, the company said.
RWE said it will invest in new assets, making acquisitions, developing project pipelines and “driving innovative technologies forward”, including the planned acquisition of Nordex’s European onshore wind and solar development business.
The acquisition will entail a project pipeline of 2.7GW, of which 1.9GW is in France, with the remaining 800MW in Spain, Sweden and Poland. Around 15% of the pipeline is close to the final investment decision or at an advanced stage of development.
In relation to the 1.4GW Sofia offshore wind project, off eastern England, RWE has chosen the preferred suppliers for the project’s high voltage direct current transmission system and turbines.
RWE is also involved in several hydrogen projects in Germany, the UK and the Netherlands.
Krebber added: “We confirm our target of increasing the dividend. We are strategically well-positioned and pressing ahead vigorously with the expansion of our core business.
“That’s the basis for the new RWE to reach its ambitious goals: to be carbon neutral by 2040 and to remain one of the world’s leading companies in the field of renewable energy.”