MVV: Strong business performance with #climatepositive course

"Our strong business performance in the first half continued in the third quarter of our current financial year as well", explained Dr. Georg Müller, Chief Executive Officer of the Mannheim-based energy company MVV Energie AG (ISIN: DE000A0H52F5; WKN: A0H52F), upon publication of the results for the first nine months of the 2023 financial year. In a challenging environment, MVV managed to significantly improve both its sales and its earnings in the period from 1 October 2022 to 30 June 2023.

At around Euro 5.8 billion, MVV's adjusted sales were 59 percent higher in the period under report than in the previous year (Euro 3.7 billion). This increase was chiefly due to wholesale electricity and gas prices, which were higher than in the previous year's period. The renewable energies project development business also generated sales growth.

MVV's earnings performance was driven by all operating segments. At Euro 710 million, operating earnings excluding disposal gains were significantly higher than the equivalent figure for the previous year (Euro 265 million). As in the first half of the financial year, the Commodities business field, i.e. the company's activities in marketing renewable energies, and trading posted an exceptionally strong performance. Here, MVV benefited from its good portfolio of solar and wind power while maintaining a conservative approach to risk management. The company was able to generate substantial additional revenues from these extra volumes and by exploiting price volatilities. At the same time, conventional energy trading also had a positive impact within the company's portfolio management.

The renewable energies project development business confirmed the strong start to the year. Alongside two large solar projects in the USA, MVV's Juwi subsidiary is currently implementing a solar park in Japan. It also sold the rights to a windfarm in South Africa, in which country alone Juwi has now built up a project pipeline of 400 megawatts. In Germany, Juwi is also currently planning the construction of the largest windfarm in North Rhine-Westphalia. With a capacity of more than 260 megawatts, this should supply green electricity to more than 150,000 households from the end of 2028. Moreover, the company is supporting plant operators in optimising existing older plants by revamping and thus raising the performance capacity of existing parks. MVV is also stepping up its marketing of green electricity volumes via long-term supply agreements, known as power purchase agreements (PPAs).

In its generation activities, the non-availability of capacity at a shareholding had a less marked financial impact than in the previous year. Furthermore, a previously planned inspection was postponed, which generated additional earnings. "Here, however, the positive impact on earnings will reverse once the inspection is performed in the further course of the year", added Dr. Müller.

Forecast for 2023 financial year confirmed
Given its earnings performance to date and its expectations for the fourth quarter of the current financial year, MVV confirmed its earnings forecast for the 2023 financial year. The company had raised this in its half-year reporting. Dr. Müller: "From an operating perspective, we still without amendment expect adjusted EBIT excluding disposal gains to amount to between Euro 650 million and Euro 720 million. In the event of a further stabilisation in the energy markets and assuming that no setbacks arise due to macroeconomic factors, we even see opportunities for our operating earnings to exceed the forecast range."

Political framework required for future of gas grids
With regard to the future of climate-friendly heating in Germany and the associated debate, MVV's CEO confirmed that district heat would be the first choice for the climate-friendly heat supply in large built-up areas in future. To this end, a national average of at least 50 percent of district heat should result from climate-neutral generation by 2030. "At MVV, we will beat this target in Mannheim and its surrounding region and in Offenbach. Here, we will supply 100-percent green heat by 2030, with Kiel set to follow no later than 2035", explained Dr. Müller and stressed: "For this once-in-a-century task to succeed, the infrastructure will also have to be fully converted to green energy. That also applies to the transformation in gas distribution grids which, by the time at which the heat supply is fully decarbonised, will have to be either converted to green gases or decommissioned." Although very little time remained before these measures would have to be implemented, no bespoke political framework was yet in place for either of these options for the future. MVV has outlined how this framework should be structured in its current study: "Future of the Gas Grids". This is available on the internet at mvv.de/gasnetzstudie.

According to MVV's CEO, the legislative processes currently underway offered the opportunity to sensibly dovetail the law on municipal heat planning and the amendment to the German Building Energy Act (GEG) to make a success of the heat transition. Moreover, there was an urgent and substantial need for reform, particularly in energy industry law, concession law and the incentive regulation ordinance. Explained Dr. Müller: "Ultimately, we must obtain a set of regulations that successfully addresses the sometime conflicting needs for investment reliability on the one hand and openness to as many types of climate-neutral heat supply as possible on the other." Over and above that, there was a need for people capable of putting the heat transition into practice on a technical level. What was needed ere was a broad-based training and specialist recruitment campaign. MVV had been committed to this for many years now by offering widely recognised, highly qualified training and would be further expanding this initiative.

MVV implements its first #climatepositive plant
"Instead of waiting for political decisions or promotional financing, we are already putting our #climatepositive plans into action", stressed MVV's CEO. That applied just as much to the heat transition as to the electricity transition and MVV's customer solutions. Together, these form the pillars of MVV's Mannheim Model and show how the energy company intends to become #climatepositive by 2040 at the latest. "This will require us not only to reduce our emissions but also to actively remove CO₂ from the atmosphere and permanently capture, use or store this", announced the CEO and continued: "Our biomass and energy from waste plants are the key to our #climatepositive future."

In Dresden, this is already a reality: At the bio-waste anaerobic digestion plant there, MVV has for the first time now stored captured and liquefied CO₂. This greenhouse gas is used for concrete recycling and permanently removed from the atmosphere by being stored in demolition concrete. In Mannheim, MVV is also working on a pilot project in which CO₂ is to be captured from flue gas resulting from waste treatment and its biomass power plant and subsequently used.

The complete quarterly statement is available online at www.mvv.de/investors.