Oldenburg, 24 April 2025 - As announced, the Oldenburg-based energy and telecommunications service provider EWE once again significantly increased its investments in the development of an increasingly climate-neutral and more digitalised energy system in the 2024 financial year: over € 1.3 billion was invested in growth areas such as wind energy, electromobility and hydrogen as well as in the necessary expansion of regional energy grids. The predominantly municipal company thus invested 15.4 per cent more than in the previous year (2023: EUR 1.1 billion) - and more than twice as much as the long-term average. "Step by step, we are realising what we promised: To make this region a powerhouse of the energy transition and, together with others, to renew the foundations for growth, value creation and prosperity," explained Stefan Dohler, CEO of EWE AG, at the balance sheet presentation. "At the same time, we are doing our bit to make Germany less dependent on fossil fuels and energy imports. In times like these, this is urgently needed both in terms of national security and to limit climate change."
EWE's major projects making good progress
After five years of development work for the future of energy, EWE presented the results of the HyCAVmobil hydrogen storage project in December 2024. At its gas storage site in Rüdersdorf, Brandenburg, EWE demonstrated that the underground storage of hydrogen works. This is important because hydrogen can be used to store large quantities of energy from the sun and wind, especially for industrial use. ‘The next step is now to convert a large natural gas cavern at our storage site in Huntorf in the district of Wesermarsch,’ explains Dohler. EWE intends to store hydrogen there from 2027. Other existing caverns and sites could also be converted as soon as the hydrogen economy in northern Germany ramps up. EWE is also pushing ahead with this ramp-up at the Emden site: ‘We are building a production plant for green hydrogen there, which will supply around 27,000 tonnes per year from 2027,’ says Dohler. With an investment volume of around 800 million euros, the project is the central component of EWE's ‘Clean Hydrogen Coastline’ hydrogen project and was approved by the Board of Management and Supervisory Board in 2024." Positive developments also include the expansion of onshore wind energy via the subsidiary Alterric, the expansion of fibre optic networks via the joint venture Glasfaser Nordwest and the expansion of the charging infrastructure through EWE Go, Dohler said.
Keeping the energy transition affordable and well-financed
In the direction of the new German government, Dohler emphasised that reliable framework conditions are important for the further restructuring of the energy system. ‘We should consistently continue on the path that Germany and Europe have taken towards an energy supply based on renewable energies,’ Dohler encouraged. For there to be sufficient acceptance for this, EWE believes that three building blocks need to be well balanced: The total costs of the future energy system, the degree of burden on consumers and the sources of financing for the investments in the conversion.
‘We can reduce system costs in many ways, for example by planning offshore wind expansion in a yield-optimised rather than performance-optimised way or by getting the EU to reduce the costs of producing green hydrogen by a third by reducing bureaucratic requirements as part of a hydrogen alliance,’ Dohler explained. In view of the increased need for investment coupled with higher energy import prices, he considers temporary government relief to be appropriate: ‘Reducing the electricity tax to a European minimum and granting subsidies for grid fees would help electricity-intensive applications and industries in particular to get through this phase.’
CFO Dr Frank Reiners adds: "A large part of the investments will not come from state funds but will have to be implemented with private capital. That also makes sense. However, the returns granted by the Federal Network Agency for the expansion of the network infrastructure are currently not sufficient to attract investors on the international financial markets. What is needed here is an overall political framework that is better suited to the very long-term investment cycles in the energy sector."
Positive business development in line with forecast expectations
Overall, the Board of Management of EWE AG can look back on positive business development in the 2024 financial year, which is in line with the forecast issued last year.
The EWE Group generated sales (excluding electricity and energy tax) of € 8,681.3 million (2023: € 10,005.1 million). This corresponds to a decline of 13.2 per cent compared to the same period last year and is mainly due to a normalisation of energy prices. ‘EWE continues to be strongly characterised by the trading and sales business, which means that price trends on the energy markets have a direct impact on our sales,’ explains Reiners.
In addition to operating earnings before interest and taxes (OEBIT), OEBITDA also becomes more important for managing the company during the growth phase. This key figure shows the earnings before depreciation, which rise sharply in a phase of sustained high investment and therefore disproportionately reduce OEBIT. "As the energy markets calmed down, OEBITDA of EUR 1,261.4 million and OEBIT of EUR 631.8 million in the past financial year moved back towards a normal level for EWE. This will continue in the coming year 2025," says Reiners. In the previous year, the high volatility on the energy exchanges had led to a particularly high trading result, which was reflected in exceptionally high figures for OEBITDA (EUR 1,642.8 million) and OEBIT (EUR 1,027.3 million).
At EUR 918.9 million, the consolidated result for the period was significantly higher than the previous year's result (2023: EUR -541.9 million). "Our result is heavily influenced by the valuation of financial futures contracts - known as derivatives - as at the reporting date, which do not affect cash. While these had a negative impact on earnings in the same period of the previous year, there was a strong positive net surplus of valuation effects in the 2024 financial year," explains Reiners. Lower impairments also had a positive impact on the result for the period.
Development of other key figures in the 2024 financial year
With an average of 10,899 employees in the past financial year (2023: 10,845), EWE is one of the largest employers in the north-west. Within the EWE Group, there were increases in strategic growth areas. On the other hand, there were disposals due to adjustments in the investment portfolio, such as the sale of the Polish EWE companies. Overall, this led to a 0.5 per cent increase in the number of employees in the EWE Group. The individual financial statements of EWE AG in accordance with HGB total € 650.8 million for the 2024 financial year (2023: € 428.3 million), an increase of 51.9 per cent. The Board of Management and Supervisory Board will therefore propose a dividend of € 176.2 million to the Annual General Meeting.
Outlook for 2025
Compared to the 2024 financial year, EWE expects operating earnings before interest and taxes for the current financial year to be 2.5 to 5 per cent lower due to the expected normalisation of the wholesale markets.
