Positive sales and earnings performance
External sales (excluding electricity tax) grew year-on-year by Euro 303 million to Euro 1,382 million. This sharp increase by 28% was chiefly due to substantial volume growth and higher prices in the nationwide sale of electricity, especially at MVV Energie AG and Stadtwerke Kiel AG. Moreover, sales were also affected by price increases in the electricity trading and private customer businesses at some of the municipal utility shareholdings.
Adjusted for the positive IAS 39 valuation item of Euro 79 million, operating earnings (EBIT) in the electricity segment rose year-on-year by Euro 26 million to Euro 64 million. Numerous individual factors contributed to this improvement. Electricity generation costs benefited firstly from non-period credits from the transmissions grid operator for the grid construction costs saved due to the operation of the decentralised power plant in Mannheim. Revenues were also boosted by the fair cause-based splitting of generation costs with the district heating segment. At power-operated power plants, steam has to be provided to produce district heating using the cogeneration process, thus reducing the output available for electricity generation. The resultant loss of revenues and costs on the electricity side are offset against district heating. Earnings at the Kiel subgroup benefited from non-period income from the delineation of consumption, as well as from the fact that, unlike in the previous year, no charge was incurred for the recognition of personnel provisions. Energy tax refunds and pricing factors also enabled the Offenbach, Ingolstadt and Solingen shareholdings to post improved earnings contributions compared with the previous year.
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