Mannheim-based energy company relying on energy saving, energy efficiency and renewable energies - sales rise by 17 percent to Euro 2.6 billion and EBIT be-fore IAS 39 by 25 percent to Euro 249 million in past 2007/08 financial year

Germany's largest publicly listed municipal utility group, the Mannheim-based energy company MVV Energie, aims to achieve further growth in the coming years by investing in climate protection. As announced by Dr. Georg Müller, CEO of MVV Energie AG, at this year's annual financial statements press conference in Frankfurt on Tuesday, MVV Energie will be relying in this respect on the "three pillars of energy saving, energy efficiency and renewable energies". In Mannheim alone, the company will be investing more than Euro 100 million in climate protection measures by 2020. "We have the necessary expertise and longstanding experience required to exploit the opportunities arising in the market on account of climate policy objectives and programmes both in our core business of electricity, gas, water and environmentally-friendly district heating in particular, as well as in our high-growth fields of environmental energy and energy-related services", commented Dr. Müller. Tapping this market potential would, according to Dr. Müller, open up future opportunities for the environment, consumers and companies alike.

Following a weaker performance in the previous financial year due to the very mild winter, in the past 2007/08 financial year (1.10.2007 - 30.9.2008) MVV Energie successfully maintained its growth course, increasing its operating earnings (EBIT) excluding energy trading transactions requiring measurement under international accounting standards (IAS 39) by 25 percent to Euro 249 million. Annual sales excluding energy taxes rose by around 17 percent over the same period to reach more than Euro 2.6 billion.

The company maintained its ground well in a difficult market environment and met its financial targets, with substantial improvements in all key earnings figures. In the past financial year, the MVV Energie Group increased its annual net surplus after minority interests from Euro 109 million to Euro 170 million and its earnings per share from Euro 1.96 to Euro 2.60.

According to the MVV Energie CEO, this profitable growth was attributable in particular to the successful nationwide sale of electricity to industrial and commercial customers, to increased turnover in the district heating and gas segments due to cooler weather conditions compared with the unusually mild winter in the 2006/07 heating period and to cost savings driven by efficiency enhancement measures. Moreover, the company's performance had also benefited on the one hand from the first full year of operations at the second incineration line at the Leuna II energy from waste plant (TREA) in the environmental energy segment and on the other hand from numerous new projects and company shareholdings acquired in the value-added services segment. "This means that we now generate around 60% of our total sustainable operating earnings before interest and taxes in the non-regulated markets of district heating, value-added services and environmental energy", added Dr. Müller.

Virtually all companies within the municipal utility network were able to improve their earnings in the past financial year. Together with the foreign district heating companies, the municipal utility shareholdings of the MVV Energie Group in Germany posted combined sales of Euro 1 138 million, compared with Euro 977 million one year earlier, and EBIT before IAS of Euro 112 million, as against Euro 84 million in the previous financial year.

Stadtwerke Kiel contributed sales of Euro 407 million (previous year: Euro 430m) and operating earnings of Euro 36 million (previous year: Euro 25m) to the results of the overall Group. Sales at Energieversorgung Offenbach rose by 16 percent to Euro 399 million, while EBIT showed a slight decline of around Euro 2 million to Euro 36 million. Stadtwerke Solingen increased its proportionately consolidated sales year-on-year by 16 percent to Euro 109 million and virtually doubled its EBIT from Euro 8 million to Euro 14 million. Proportionately consolidated sales at Stadtwerke Ingolstadt rose by 8 percent to Euro 92 million, while EBIT grew by Euro 3 million to Euro 10 million. Köthen Energie achieved sales growth of 21 percent to Euro 13 million and boosted its EBIT by 16 percent to Euro 1 million. The Czech subgroup, where sales rose by 48 percent to Euro 92 million and EBIT even improved by 180 percent to Euro 14 million, also maintained its highly successful performance.

The Executive and Supervisory Boards intend to enable shareholders to participate in these positive results and will therefore be proposing an increase in the dividend for the past 2007/08 financial year from Euro 0.80 to Euro 0.90 per share for approval by the Annual General Meeting to be held in the Congress Center Rosengarten in Mannheim on 13 March 2009. Due to the higher number of shares following the capital increase in October 2007, the dividend total will therefore increase by a further Euro 6.6 million to Euro 59.3 million.

For the current 2008/09 financial year, the company expects sales to show single-digit growth to around Euro 2.8 billion. This will be driven by further expansion in the nationwide sale of electricity and gas in Germany and additional contracting projects in the housing and industrial sectors. With regard to the implications of the current economic and financial crisis, Dr. Müller remarked that "we have not witnessed any noticeable downturn in our turnover to date. However, should our customers curtail their production activities, for example by reducing working hours or extending vacation closedowns, then this will of course also affect us. Having said this, our broad base of medium-sized customers will help to smooth out the impact on our turnover." In terms of operating earnings (EBIT), on the other hand, the company expects the absence of the positive one-off items reported for the past financial year, such as the operating earnings contributions of the Polish subsidiary now sold, and the first full-year inclusion of start-up losses incurred at the nationwide sales subsidiary SECURA Energie to lead to a slight reduction in EBIT compared with the past financial year.

Frankfurt / Mannheim, 27 January 2009

Key figures of the MVV Energie Group pursuant to IFRS

Euro million	2007/2008	2006/2007	+/-% change
Sales excluding electricity and natural gas taxes	2 636	2 259	+ 17
EBITDA	486	359	+ 35
EBITDA before IAS 39	398	344	+ 16
EBIT	337	215	+ 57
EBIT before to IAS 39	249	199	+ 25
EBT	269	139	+ 94
EBT before IAS 39	181	123	+ 47
Annual net surplus	185	126	+ 47
Annual net surplus after minority interests	170	109	+ 56
Earnings per share1 in Euro	2.60	1.96	+ 33
Free Cashflow2	54	188	- 71
1 increase in number of shares (weighted annual average) from    55.8 million to 65.3 million due to capital increase
2 cash flow from operating activities less investments in intangible assets, property, plant and    equipment and investment property