Mannheim-based energy company now offering green electricity across the whole of Germany - Sales rose by 4 percent to Euro 2.3 billion in past 2006/07 financial year, while EBIT before IAS 39 remained almost unchanged at Euro 199 million

Germany's largest publicly listed municipal utility group, the Mannheim-based energy distribu-tion and service company MVV Energie, will be entering the nationwide competition for private customers in the German electricity market with immediate effect with its own green electricity product offering. As announced by Dr. Rudolf Schulten, CEO of MVV Energie, at this year's annual financial statements press conference in Frankfurt on Thursday, the new "SECURA-Ökostrom" green electricity product meets the growing demand for environmentally-friendly yet inexpensive electricity, while also satisfying consumers' need for a secure and reliable electricity supply. "We are the only national electricity supplier to date to provide our customers not only with 100 % green electricity, but also with a comprehensive care package, including an insurance policy integrated into the price to cover problems and damages of up to Euro 250 per year in connection with household installation - and all that at the same price as the general rates of the local supplier and including a 12-month price guarantee". According to Matthias Brückmann, the company's Sales Director, this nationwide electricity offer, which can be ordered by internet at www.secura-oekostrom.de, will be supplemented at the end of the year by a national gas product. "Our nationwide private customer sales activities thus form a further component in our growth strategy, by means of which we aim to proactively exploit the opportunities arising from increased competition," commented Brückmann.

Like all companies operating in the district heating and gas businesses, MVV Energie suffered a weather-related downturn in turnover as a result of the very mild winter in the past 2006/07 fi-nancial year (1.10.2006 - 30.9.2007). The group of companies nevertheless increased its sales to Euro 2.3 billion, equivalent to growth of almost 4 percent compared with the previous year. Operating earnings (EBIT) amounted to Euro 215 million. Following adjustment for the non-cash valuation effect of IAS 39, MVV Energie achieved EBIT of Euro 199 million, as against Euro 201 million in the previous year.

MVV Energie boss, Dr. Schulten, was "very satisfied" with these results. The company had thus succeeded in compensating for the weather-related downturn in earnings by around Euro 33 million in the district heating and natural gas businesses and had almost matched the very pleasing earnings posted in the previous year. "The fact that we managed to achieve these earnings while largely maintaining prices unchanged for our customers fills us with pride. This shows that our group of companies is in good shape and is now able to cope with very difficult market and competitive conditions. We are now reaping the benefits of the successful expan-sion of our high-growth segments and the early introduction of efficiency enhancement meas-ures in our municipal utility network." As well as the successful further development of Group resulting from the implementation of efficiency enhancement and cost-cutting programmes al-ready underway and the success of sales activities in core business fields, Dr. Schulten high-lighted the very positive performance of the high-growth environmental energy and energy-related services divisions as representing key drivers in the Group's performance.

The net surplus after minority interests also rose from Euro 50 million in the previous year to Euro 109 million. This jump in earnings was chiefly due to deferred tax income of Euro 46 million reported in the 2006/07 consolidated financial statements in connection with the 2008 corporate tax reform. According to the CEO, the positive free cash flow of Euro 119 million - in the previous year this figure had been negative to the tune of Euro 52 million - provided an "indication of the robust earnings and financial strength of our company".

MVV Energie thus consistently maintained its course of profitable and sustainable growth in the past year as well, sustainably exploiting opportunities arising in the market. In spite of the substantial one-off negative impact of weather conditions, the positive earnings performance also provides the company with the scope necessary for the Executive and Supervisory Boards to propose an attractive dividend of Euro 0.80 per share once again for approval by the Annual General Meeting at the Congress Center Rosengarten in Mannheim on 14 March 2008.

Turning to the current financial year, Dr. Schulten announced that the company expected operat-ing earnings (EBIT) to show double-digit percentage growth. "Our company is optimally prepared for the new phase of regulated competition."

Dr. Schulten sees the growth market of environmental energy and climate protection as harbouring particularly notable opportunities for his company. As part of an integrated energy and climate protection programme, the German Federal Government had set ambitious climate protection and energy saving targets for 2020. The European Commission was also calling for an increased share of renewable energies and improved energy efficiency. The problem of pollutants was especially marked in cities and conurbations, given their high concentration of industry and commerce, population densities and traffic volumes. Accordingly, the CEO of MVV Energie sees these areas as offering the most promising potential for effective climate protection.

"This will provide the municipal utility companies with new business fields both in their local markets and for their decentralised strategy," added Dr. Schulten. In recent years, MVV Energie had built up a leading position in the German market with its environmental energy and energy-related services business. With biomass power plants in Mannheim, Königs Wusterhausen and Flörsheim-Wicker near Wiesbaden, the company was among the market leaders in the use of biomass. Together with non-recyclable waste incineration plants in Mannheim, Offenbach and Leuna, the Group had an annual incineration capacity of 1.6 million tonnes. The energy-related services business combined energy enhancement and savings measures with the use of renewable energies. With annual sales of Euro 263 million and EBIT of Euro 19 million, this division now contributed substantially to the earnings of the Group. "Climate protection, energy efficiency and the increased use of regenerative energy forms therefore offer investment opportunities, and thus opportunities for growth, for our group of companies," concluded Dr. Schulten.

Frankfurt / Mannheim, 17 January 2008

Key figures of the MVV Energie Group pursuant to IFRS

Euro million	2006/2007	2005/2006	+/-% change
Sales1	2 259	2 170	+ 4
EBITDA	359	370	- 3
EBIT	215	201	+ 7
EBIT before to IAS 39	199	2012	-
EBT	139	128	+ 9
Annual net surplus	1263	64	+ 97
Annual net surplus after minority interests	1093	50	+ 118
Earnings4 per share5 in Euro	1.96	0.91	+ 115
Free Cashflow6	119	- 52	-
1 excluding energy taxes
2 impact on earnings of IAS 39 (energy trading transactions) not reported separately in the    previous year
3 including deferred tax income of Euro 46 million in connection with the 2008 corporate tax reform
4 in accordance with IAS 33
5 number of shares (weighted annual average): 55.8 million (previous year: 55.1 million)
6 cash flow from operating activities less investments in, intangible assets property, plant and    equipment and investment property