RWE begins 2024 with a solid quarterly fiscal result and 42% electricity generation from renewables

German energy company RWE has experienced a strong start to the year with adjusted EBITDA reaching €1.7 billion ($1,84 billion) and adjusted net income at €0.8 billion.

Its earnings report on Wednesday also confirmed 42% of electricity generation in the first quarter of 2024 came from renewable sources.

An increase in earnings in the offshore wind segment was driven by better wind conditions and by capacity additions in the company’s onshore wind/solar division.

Realistic numbers

RWE said earnings in the flexible generation segment were below the exceptionally high prior-year level, as expected, and a dividend target of €1.10 per share for the current fiscal year has been confirmed.

Meanwhile, the company is expanding its green portfolio with projects with a total capacity of 8.3GW under construction.

Michael Müller, Chief Financial Officer of RWE AG, said the solid first quarter and significant increases in earnings in both offshore wind and onshore wind/solar “shows that our investments are paying off…and we are continuing to invest massively”. 

Portfolio expansion

RWE reported net investments of €2.3 billion in the first quarter of 2024, about €1 billion of which was attributable to the acquisition of three offshore wind development projects from Vattenfall, off the UK coast. 

RWE also invested more than twice as much in building new wind and solar power plants in the first quarter as in the same 2023 period. Proceeds from the sale of a 49% stake in the UK’s Dogger Bank South offshore wind projects to UAE company Masdar had a counteracting effect.

Building growth

Under-construction plants include offshore wind projects Sofia off the UK coast, with 1.4GW capacity, and Thor in Denmark, with 1.1GW. RWE is also driving expansion of onshore wind and solar energy, and the building of new batteries. More than 100 projects are underway in Europe and the US.

Earnings in focus

Figures in the first quarter included offshore wind where adjusted EBITDA amounted to €548 million, compared to €473 million in the same 2023 quarter, while the onshore wind/solar segment adjusted EBITDA hit €341 million, compared to €247 million in 2023. 

RWE said the positive earnings development was mainly due to the commissioning of new capacity and recognition of the business activities of Con Edison Clean Energy Businesses in the US for a full three months. Wind conditions at European onshore sites improved marginally overall.

Adjusted EBITDA of the flexible generation segment decreased to €552 million in the first quarter from €1,181 million in the prior-year period when margins on electricity forward electricity sales and income from short-term optimisation of power plant dispatch were exceptionally high.

As of March 31, RWE reported net debt of €11.2 billion.