German energy group E.ON reports higher renewable earnings in 2018

German energy group E.ON has released its 2018 results. The group's Energy Networks branch delivered 192 TWh of electricity in 2018 (107 TWh in Germany and 37 TWh in Sweden) and 135 TWh of gas (89 TWh in Germany and 27 TWh in Romania). The group claimed a market share of 19% for electricity and 10% for gas in Germany and 25% for electricity in Sweden. Through its Customer Solutions branch, E.ON is selling energy to 22 million customers in 8 countries: in 2018, the group sold 134 TWh of electricity (38 TWh in Germnay, 32 TWh in the United Kingdom and 16 TWh in Sweden) and 138 TWh of gas (44 TWh in the UK, 33 TWh in Germany and 27 TWh in Romania). At the end of the year, the group had stakes in 7.5 GW of renewable projects (3.9 GW in the United States and 3.6 GW in Europe), corresponding to a pro-rata capacity of 5.7 GW (4.2 GW of onshore wind, 1.4 GW of offshore wind and 47 MW of solar) that generated 15.8 TWh in 2018. In addition, E.ON has an additional 910 MW of renewable projects - 810 MW onshore wind and 100 MW PV - under construction.



In 2018, E.ON reported that its renewable energies business segment delivered higher earnings, even though the wind yield was relatively poor. The company's 2018 investments reached €3.5bn in 2018 (+6% on the previous year) and were allocated in particular to the energy networks, of which €800m in the development and digitalisation of the German power grids. The company's financial situation is also improving as its debt stood at €26.3bn in 2016, declined to €19.2bn in 2017 and just €16.6bn at year-end 2018.



E.ON is currently seeking European Commission approval for the takeover of Innogy’s customer portfolio, the first step of a merger control procedure which is required to complete the asset swap with RWE.