MVV asserts itself with #climatepositive course in a challenging market climate

“With our strategic focus on climate protection, we again successfully asserted ourselves in a difficult market climate”, explained Dr. Georg Müller, Chief Executive Officer of the energy company MVV Energie AG (ISIN: DE000A0H52F5; WKN: A0H52F), upon the presentation of the company’s results for the first nine months of the current 2024 financial year (1 October 2023 – 30 June 2024) in Mannheim on Thursday.

At around Euro 5.9 billion, sales were slightly higher than the previous year’s figure (Euro 5.8 billion). Alongside positive volume and price factors in the gas business, this development was due above all to the settlement of forward transactions that had still been concluded at higher levels of electricity prices.

As expected and announced by the company, the adjusted EBIT of Euro 385 million fell significantly short of the high previous year’s figure of Euro 845 million. It should be noted that earnings for the previous financial year included substantial non-recurring revenues due to positive one-off items, such as disposal gains from the sale of shareholdings, as well as the exceptional performance in the Commodity Services business field due to wholesale prices. “The first nine months of the 2024 financial year were shaped by a challenging market climate, particularly in terms of volatile price movements on the wholesale energy markets. Based on long-term comparisons, and excluding 2023, our earnings of Euro 385 million are nevertheless very respectable”, clarified MVV’s CEO. MVV had benefited in particular from higher earnings contributions from its proprietary wind turbines and its project development business. Furthermore, the group of companies generated disposal gains from the sale of the shares held by MVV’s Juwi subsidiary in the Japanese joint venture Juwi Shizen Energy.

Earnings corridor for 2024 financial year specified in greater detail

“Based on our earnings performance to date and our expectations for the fourth quarter of the current financial year, we can now specify our forecast for the 2024 financial year in greater detail”, added Dr. Müller: “From an operating perspective, we now expect MVV’s adjusted EBIT excluding disposal gains to amount to between Euro 390 million and Euro 420 million in the 2024 financial year. This confirms the reduction in earnings for the 2024 financial year that we had already forecast due to one-off items in the 2023 financial year.” In its previous forecast, which MVV published with its 2023 Annual Report, the energy company had still formulated its earnings expectations for the 2024 financial year in terms of a broader corridor of between Euro 360 million and Euro 440 million. This corridor has now been narrowed to account for the fact that the financial year is well advanced.

MVV still consistently implementing course of becoming #climatepositive by 2035

MVV is successfully pressing further ahead with its target of becoming #climatepositive by 2035 by implementing its Mannheim Model with its three components of heat transition, electricity transition and green customer solutions.

To make its district heat in Mannheim and the region fully green by 2030, the energy company is currently connecting its biomass power plant in the north of Mannheim to the central district heat grid. This way, it is tapping climate-friendly heat potential of around 270 gigawatt hours a year. In parallel, MVV is actively involving people living in Mannheim in the joint course to the heat transition. At information events, the energy company is presenting the municipal heat plan adopted by the City of Mannheim and the benefits and functionalities of district heat and of climate-neutral decentralised heat solutions such as heat pumps. MVV’s shareholdings Stadtwerke Kiel and Energieversorgung Offenbach are also pursuing ambitious specific transition plans for their local heat supply.

Furthermore, MVV is accelerating the electricity transition both at home and abroad. In Germany, MVV will increasing retain wind and photovoltaics projects from its proprietary project development business within the Group. Here, the company will take over four further windfarms with total capacities of more than 70 megawatts into its own portfolio. These are due to launch operations by 2026. In Greece, Juwi recently sold an extensive photovoltaics portfolio with capacities of 267 megawatts. This project portfolio comprises three solar parks located around 300 kilometres north of Athens. Construction of the plants by Juwi is due to begin in August 2024, while operations are scheduled to be launched in the first quarter of 2026. After this, Juwi will also take care of technical operations and maintenance of the solar plants. Overall, the project involves installing around 430,000 bifacial solar modules that will generate around 515 million kilowatt hours of clean electricity and thus cover the electricity needs of more than 100,000 people in Greece. In the US State of Colorado, MVV’s subsidiary is currently developing three further photovoltaics projects with total capacities of more than 500 megawatts. One 175-megawatt project is already under construction, while the sale of two projects with capacities of 186 and 141 megawatts to the energy supplier Tri-State was agreed and signed at the beginning of June. Here, construction work is due to begin shortly and should be completed by the end of 2025.

MVV is also pressing ahead with making its customer solutions green. In this context, the company is expanding its electro-mobility network. With the new e-charging park in the Franklin urban district, MVV has already opened what is now its fourth rapid charging park in Mannheim, while also launching operations with further rapid charging points in Walldorf. Furthermore, at its existing e-charging park in the north of Mannheim MVV recently created a pilot location for rapid charging oases which offer greenery in urban surroundings. All of MVV’s points charge exclusively with 100-percent green electricity. The group of companies is also promoting the mobility turnaround at further locations in Kiel and Offenbach.

Investments in making the energy system fit for the future

“By investing in the heat and energy transitions and making our customer solutions green, we are consistently upholding our #climatepositive course and building a climate-friendly energy system that is fit for the future”, stressed Dr. Müller in conclusion. MVV invested a total of Euro 252 million in the first nine months of the 2024 financial year, Euro 25 million more than in the same period in the previous year.

The complete Quarterly Statement can be found on the internet at www.mvv.de/investors.