RWE’s adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for its offshore wind business increased by 11% to €1069m, compared to proforma results for 2019.
The energy company attributed the result largely to “very favourable” wind conditions in the first quarter of 2020.
For the current fiscal year, RWE forecasts a result of between €1050m and €1250m for offshore wind.
RWE said a “positive effect” will result from it increasing its stake in the Rampion wind farm in the UK to 50.1%, as agreed with E.ON.
Adjusted EBITDA for onshore wind and solar increased by 7% to €472m, compared with proforma results for 2019, which RWE attributed to the commissioning of new wind farms and solar plants with a total capacity of around 800MW, despite delays due to the pandemic.
For the current year, RWE said it expects adjusted EBITDA of between €50m and €250m for this segment, closing down on last year’s level.
This is primarily due to the impact on earnings of the state of emergency resulting from the exceptional weather situation in Texas in the US in February.
Production outages caused by winter storms and icy rain made it necessary to purchase electricity at extremely high prices and the resulting losses are reflected in this segment’s outlook.
RWE said it expects to see a positive impact on earnings from the commissioning of a large number of onshore wind and solar farms as well as battery storage facilities.
RWE CEO Rolf Martin Schmitz (pictured) said: “The past financial year was an outstanding one for RWE, despite the challenges of the coronavirus crisis. We clearly exceeded our forecast.
“This is a very good basis to continue our growth course. We are investing billions of euros in renewables.
“At the same time, we are rigorously and reliably reducing our CO2 emissions with a clear target: RWE will become carbon neutral by 2040.”
RWE said 84% of capital expenditure is already “environmentally sustainable”, with its wind and solar power portfolio expected to expand to more than 13GW by end of 2022, with 3GW under construction.