Vattenfall records 6% decline in H1 wind operating profit

Vattenfall Horns rev 3 wind farm. Image by Vattenfall AB (group.vattenfall.com)

The underlying operating profit at the wind segment of Swedish state-owned utility Vattenfall AB declined 6% year-over-year in the first half of 2024, even as electricity generation increased by around 34%.

The profit decline was attributed to lower electricity prices, higher costs and depreciation, mainly due to new assets. These effects were compensated in part by higher volumes from the new wind farms Hollandse Kust Zuid and Vesterhav, higher subsidies for German offshore wind farms and availability warranty payments for offshore wind in the Netherlands.

Net sales in the first half were down 5%. In the second quarter, net sales declined 3%, while underlying operating profit shrank 38%.

in SEK million	H1 2024	H1 2023	Q2 2024	Q2 2023
Net sales	10,614	11,193	4,763	4,903
Underlying EBITDA	7,172	6,791	2,680	2,789
Underlying EBIT	3,251	3,443	648	1,049
Electicity generation - wind power TWh	9	6.7	3.7	2.7

Overall, Vattenfall on Friday reported a “satisfactory” result for the first half of the year, aided by increased generation. Its underlying operating profit for the first half year increased by 23% to SEK 17.9 billion (USD 1.68bn/EUR 1.54bn) as price hedging enabled the company to achieve higher prices in the Nordics amid a falling market trend for electricity prices.

Profit for the period grew to SEK 26.2 billion from SEK 6.9 billion, boosted by non-recurring effects.

“While we are positive about our improved profit and key targets, the market trends show that joint efforts will be needed to safeguard profitability. That is why we are actively working on streamlining initiatives in all parts of our operations. This includes to review common processes and how we can secure more synergies between operations,” said president and CEO Anna Borg.

(SEK 1 = USD 0.094/EUR 0.086)

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