BREMEN (dpa-AFX) - After a record year, wind and solar park developer and operator Energiekontor expects earnings to fall in 2024. Earnings before taxes are likely to be "noticeably" below the previous year, the company announced in Bremen on Thursday. Energiekontor justified this with longer realization times in the project business due to currently long delivery times and the limited availability of wind turbines, for example. In addition, the company already sold a wind farm project in the UK at the end of last year. The Group is sticking to its target of achieving earnings before taxes of around EUR 120 million by 2028.

The company also stated: In the 2024 financial year, a large part of the Group's pre-tax profit should be generated primarily from several project sales in the UK. However, the transmission system operator responsible there had recently announced possible delays in the expansion of the supra-regional grids, which is why potential shifts in earnings could not be ruled out here either.

Last year, pre-tax earnings rose from EUR 62.9 million to EUR 95.5 million, thus reaching the upper end of the company's forecast. Energiekontor had raised its earnings outlook in mid-December following the sale of the British wind farm. Thanks to a low tax rate, consolidated net income rose disproportionately by 87 percent to EUR 83.3 million. Shareholders are to receive a 20 cent higher dividend of 1.20 euros./nas/mis