RWE expects to close fiscal 2022 with an adjusted net income of €3.2 billion according to preliminary figures. The forecast is thus expected to be exceeded. This is due to high earnings from the Supply & Trading and Hydro/Biomass/Gas segments. RWE has significantly increased net cash investments to €4.4 billion in 2022 compared to €2.9 billion in 2021. This is also reflected in the results. A driver of the growth in earnings year-on-year is the increase in generation capacity based on renewables. RWE commissioned the offshore wind farm Triton Knoll off the British coast at the beginning of 2022. In addition, the turbines at the newly built Kaskasi offshore wind farm off the German island of Heligoland have been feeding green electricity into the grid with all turbines since the end of the year. In contrast to the trend in RWE’s international core business, the German coal and nuclear energy business is expected to record lower earnings in fiscal 2022 than 2021.
RWE Group’s adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) is expected to reach €6.3 billion, exceeding the forecast range. Adjusted EBITDA in the core business is assumed to be €5.6 billion, which is also above the upper end of the forecast range. For fiscal 2022, an adjusted net income of €3.2 billion is expected, which is also more than forecast.
Regarding the planned dividend for fiscal 2022, Michael Müller commented: “We confirm our dividend target of €0.90 per share for fiscal 2022 and we will propose this to our Annual General Meeting on 4 May 2023, which will be held virtually. We will also continue to massively invest in the energy transition.”
Business performance in fiscal 2022 in the international core business by segment
Offshore Wind: Adjusted EBITDA in the Offshore Wind segment is expected to be €1,412 million, compared to the prior year figure of €1,110 million, driven by the commissioning of new capacity. Wind levels were higher year-on-year, however, they were still below the long-term average.
Onshore Wind/Solar: Adjusted EBITDA in the Onshore Wind/Solar segment is expected to be €827 million compared to €258 million in fiscal 2021. Here, too, additional capacity and more favourable wind conditions had a positive impact, although wind levels were again below expectations. In addition, the previous year’s earnings included substantial one-off burdens due the extreme cold snap in Texas in February 2021.
Hydro/Biomass/Gas: Adjusted EBITDA is expected to increase to €2,369 million compared to €731 million in the previous year. This was mainly the result of higher earnings from short-term power plant deployment and higher international generation margins. Power plants were increasingly used due to less favourable wind conditions at the end of the year.
Supply & Trading: Due to a strong trading performance across almost all commodities and regions, adjusted EBITDA in fiscal 2022 in this segment is expected to increase to €1,161 million, compared to €769 million in 2021.
RWE earns less in German coal and nuclear energy business
The Coal/Nuclear segment is expected to record an adjusted EBITDA of €751 million compared to €889 million in 2021. The decrease in earnings was the result of power plant closures. RWE had also sold forward the majority of the electricity production from its German lignite and nuclear power stations before the onset of the current energy crisis.
Final figures for fiscal 2022 will be released as planned on 21 March 2023.
