VERBUND AG: Earnings forecast for financial year 2024 is significantly below market expectations
February 08, 2024 at 11:02 pm IST
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EQS-Ad-hoc: VERBUND AG / Key word(s): Profit Warning/Forecast
VERBUND AG: Earnings forecast for financial year 2024 is significantly below market expectations
08-Feb-2024 / 18:30 CET/CEST
Disclosure of an inside information acc. to Article 17 MAR of the Regulation (EU) No 596/2014, transmitted by EQS News - a service of EQS Group AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
The Executive Board of VERBUND AG announced today that the earnings forecast for financial year 2024 deviates significantly from market expectations. The rapid and massive drop in wholesale prices for electricity, caused by the fall in primary energy prices and the prices of emission allowances as well as lower earnings contribution in the Grid segment are having a negative impact on the expected EBITDA and the expected Group result for financial year 2024. These negative effects are not sufficiently reflected in the current market expectations (internally compiled consensus of analysts’ estimates; consensus 2024 as of 8th February 2024: EBITDA approx. €3.8bn, Group result approx. €2.1bn). The analysts’ consensus is therefore significantly higher than VERBUND AG’s current earnings forecast.
Forecast for 2024
Based on expectations of average levels of own generation from hydropower, wind power and solar power as well as the opportunities and risks identified, VERBUND expects EBITDA of between around €2,600m and €3,300m and a Group result of between around €1,300m and €1,750m in financial year 2024. The earnings forecast is contingent on VERBUND not being impacted further by possible energy policy measures to tax windfall profits at energy companies.
Further details will be announced when the 2023 annual results are published on 14 March 2024.
Contact:
Andreas Wollein
Head of Group Finance and Investor Relations
T.: +43 (0)5 03 13 - 52604
F.: +43 (0)5 03 13 - 52694
mailto:investor-relations@verbund.com
End of Inside Information
08-Feb-2024 CET/CEST News transmitted by EQS Group AG. www.eqs.com
Verbund AG is Austria's leading producer and supplier of electricity. Net sales break down by activity as follows:
- production and sale of electricity (84.5%): 63.4 TWh sold in 2022 (of which primarily 30.7 TWh in Austria, 27.5 TWh in Germany and 4.4 TWh in France). At the end of 2022, the group had 163 hydraulic plants, 163 wind parks, 4 solar parks and 2 thermal plants;
- electricity transportation (12.7%): operation of a high-voltage electrical network of 6,959 km;
- other (2.8%): consult engineering, consulting, telecommunications and tourism services, etc.