KARLSRUHE/STUTTGART (dpa-AFX) - According to the forecast, the Karlsruhe-based energy company EnBW was able to increase its earnings last year by more than half compared to 2022. Germany's third-largest utility had stated the expected adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (adjusted EBITDA) at up to 6.5 billion euros after evaluating the nine-month figures. In the previous year, the figure was 3.97 billion euros. The figures will be presented in Stuttgart on Wednesday (10.30 a.m.) by the new CEO Georg Stamatelopoulos, who took over as head of the company following the surprising departure of Andreas Schell less than three weeks ago.

Consequences of the energy crisis

When publishing the figures for the third quarter, EnBW attributed the strong year-on-year increases primarily to the "Sustainable Generation Infrastructure" segment, for which Stamatelopoulos was previously responsible. EnBW announced in November that the result for thermal electricity generation in particular - i.e. from coal and gas - had developed positively. The fact that the previous year 2022 was characterized by the energy crisis as a result of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine also played a role.

CFO Thomas Kusterer has repeatedly emphasized that the Group is investing a lot of money in the expansion of renewable energies, the grid and charging infrastructure for electric vehicles and climate-friendly generation. An average of 4.5 billion euros per year is mentioned. At around 80 percent, the majority of this will be invested in Germany.

What strategy does the new boss have?

In addition to the figures, the press conference is likely to focus on whether EnBW will stick to the early exit from coal by 2028 that was announced last year. And, of course, the sudden change at the helm of the Group with around 5.5 million customers and more than 28,000 employees.

Schell had reportedly left the company at the end of March 8 in a dispute with the Supervisory Board over the future course of the company. He had only taken up the position of CEO in November 2022, in the midst of the energy crisis - with a contract term of three years. In a statement, Supervisory Board Chairman Lutz Feldmann praised the team spirit and expertise of his successor. Stamatelopoulos had "extremely successfully" driven forward the restructuring of generation in various positions at EnBW over almost 15 years.

EnBW has been largely owned by the public sector since 2011. The state of Baden-Württemberg and the OEW association of nine Upper Swabian districts each hold almost 47 percent of the Group./kre/DP/zb