Eon maintains outlook as market recovery picks up pace
Energy firm Eon today held its outlook for the full-year as it said third-quarter trading had been buoyed by a better-than-expected market recovery.
The Germany-headquartered group has suffered a sharp downturn due to the outbreak of coronavirus, as well as unseasonably warm weather earlier in the year.
In the first nine months it booked adjusted earnings before interest and tax of €2.7bn (£2.4bn), down roughly €300m on the same time last year. Adjusted net income decreased from €1.3bn to €1.1bn.
But Eon said it expected to recover much of the negative impact between 2022 and 2024, and confirmed its revised outlook from earlier in the year.
The company expects 2020 adjusted earnings to be between €3.6bn and €3.8bn and adjusted net income of €1.5bn to €1.7bn.
“Taking timely, prescient action has enabled us and will continue to enable us to limit the pandemic’s impact,” said Eon chief financial officer Marc Spieker.
“The sustainable effects are therefore moderate, and our business model has demonstrated its high degree of resilience during the crisis. This gives us the confidence to fully confirm both our medium-term targets and dividend guidance.”
Eon said its energy networks segment had delivered a robust performance, contributing roughly €2.3bn of the company’s total earnings for the period — roughly nine per cent down on last year.
Earnings in its customer solutions segment declined 10 per cent to €378m.
“Significant operating improvements, primarily in the United Kingdom, could not fully compensate for the effects of the warmest start to the year since weather records began and of the pandemic,” it said.
Eon said it had successfully completed its €43bn takeover of renewable energy business Innogy from Germany rival RWE.
The company also pointed to potential growth opportunities from the EU’s €750bn Covid-19 recovery package, with €60bn earmarked for climate-related expenditures.