RWE's renewables op profit rises 56% in Q1 2015

German energy group RWE AG (ETR:RWE) said its renewables operating profit for the first quarter of 2015 jumped by 56% year-on-year to EUR 151 million (USD 170m), thanks to wind capacity coming online.

At the start of the week, RWE inaugurated the 295-MW Nordsee Ost offshore wind farm, in German waters, and said it will commission the 576-MW Gwynt y Mor farm, off Wales, next month. CEO Peter Terium said that the two parks will be providing stable returns from the very start of commercial operations.

The near completion of both offshore wind parks resulted in decreased capital expenditure for RWE’s renewables business -- RWE Innogy, to EUR 77 million in Q1 2015, which compares to EUR 223 million a year back.

Renewables earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 47.4% on the year to EUR 227 million. RWE AG expects the full-year 2015 EBITDA for the business to be slightly above last year’s EUR 186 million.

RWE AG’s overall performance was not as good as that of its renewables arm. As expected, the continued drop in margins in conventional electricity generation affected its Q1 earnings. The company saw its EBITDA contract by 3% to EUR 2.2 billion. Yet, recurrent net income grew by 10% to EUR 877 million.

The RWE Group generated 56.5 billion kWh of electricity in Q1 2015, including 3.3 billion kWh from renewables.

(EUR 1 = USD 1.125)

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