Earnings increased for both RWE’s offshore wind and onshore wind/solar segments in the first quarter of 2024.
Adjusted EBITDA in the offshore wind segment amounted to €548m, compared to €473m in the first quarter of 2023.
The increase in earnings is mainly due to improved wind conditions.
In the same period of the previous year, these were below the assumed average, RWE said.
The onshore wind/solar segment recorded adjusted EBITDA of €341m compared to €247m in the first quarter of 2023.
The positive earnings development is mainly due to the commissioning of new capacity and the recognition of the business activities of Con Edison Clean Energy Businesses in the US for the full three months.
Moreover, wind conditions at the European onshore sites improved marginally overall, which also had a positive effect, RWE reported.
RWE chief financial officer Michael Müller said: “We can look back on a solid first quarter of 2024, with significant increases in earnings in both offshore wind and onshore wind/solar.
“This shows that our investments are paying off. In the first three months of the year, 42% of our electricity generation came from renewable sources – and we are continuing to invest massively.
“Currently, we have projects with a total capacity of 8.3GW under construction. We confirm our outlook for 2024 and our target of paying a dividend of €1.10 per share for the current fiscal year.”
Around €1bn was attributable to the acquisition of three offshore wind development projects from Vattenfall off the coast of the UK.
In addition, RWE invested more than twice as much in the construction of new wind and solar power plants in the first quarter as in the same period last year.
Proceeds from the sale of a 49% stake in the Dogger Bank South offshore wind projects in the UK to Masdar had a counteracting effect, the company reported.
RWE is currently building plants with a total capacity of 8.3GW.
These include the offshore wind projects Sofia off the UK coast with 1.4GW and Thor in Denmark with 1.1GW.
RWE is also driving forward the expansion of onshore wind and solar energy and the construction of new batteries with more than 100 projects under construction in Europe and the US.
The outlook for earnings development in the current financial year is unchanged from March 2024.
At the Capital Markets Day on 28 November 2023, RWE forecasted adjusted EBITDA within a range of €5.2bn to €5.8bn.
The company is maintaining this guidance, although RWE expects to close at the lower end of the forecast range.
The reason for this is that electricity prices have dropped significantly since November 2023.
The same is true for adjusted net income, which is expected to be between €1.9bn and €2.4bn.
The dividend for the current fiscal year is to be raised to €1.10 per share.