BayWa's renewables unit starts 2021 on strong note

Izumi solar park. Image by BayWa r.e. renewable energy GmbH.

The Renewable Energies unit of German diversified group BayWa AG (ETR:BYW6) generated earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of EUR 33.7 million (USD 41m) in the first quarter of 2021, versus a loss of EUR 8.9 million a year ago, the group's results showed last week.

The improvement comes on the back of a 72.6% jump in revenues, up to EUR 662.1 million. The unit's performance was fuelled by the sale of a 35-MW solar park in Japan in the period.

BayWa said it plans to build 1.1 GW of solar and wind farms globally in 2021, mainly in the second half of the year. The company also saw a continued rise in solar module sales in the quarter amid ongoing high demand.

The renewables unit, along with the Cefetra Group business unit's international agricultural trade activities, had an unusually strong start to the year, BayWa said.

Some details of its performance:

Results in EUR million	Q1 2021	Q1 2020
Group revenue	4,272.1	3,870.1
Energy segment revenue	1,039.4	869.7
-- of which Renewable Energies	662.1	383.5
Group EBIT (loss)	45.1	(27.8)
Energy segment EBIT (loss)	37	(4)
-- of which Renewable Energies EBIT (loss)	33.7	(8.9)

"Thanks to its diversified portfolio, BayWa is beating the coronavirus pandemic and the typical seasonal influences that we are usually subject to in the first quarter," said chief executive Klaus Josef Lutz. The company still expects to match 2020's record figures this year, although it is difficult to predict the course of the pandemic, the CEO added.

(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.216)

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