The high energy prices increase profits at Eon.
(Photo: dpa)
Dusseldorf A week after its competitor RWE, the Essen-based energy company Eon is now also presenting preliminary figures for 2022. A total of eight billion euros in profit (Ebitda) was flushed into the company’s coffers last year by the high electricity and gas prices. 200 million euros more than assumed. Eon had only expected 7.6 to 7.8 billion euros.
The results of the individual segments will probably be at the upper end of the expected range, the company announced on Tuesday evening. Eon will present the final figures on March 15th.
It comes as a bit of a surprise that the North Rhine-Westphalian company has exceeded its forecast. After all, Eon was not one of the beneficiaries of the energy price crisis from the start. In fact, the massive rise in electricity and gas prices initially created a burden. However, most of these could be passed on to the company’s own customers over the course of the year.
Eon supplies around 14 million of them in Germany alone. And for them there have been significantly higher electricity and gas bills in recent months. Only in January were there drastic increases again: For customers outside the basic service, the costs will sometimes double from March 1st. From 26.9 cents per kilowatt hour, it sometimes goes up to 50.11 cents.
What was observed on the electricity exchanges last year is now only slowly being reflected in end customer prices. That’s why further price increases are to be expected this year, said Eon boss Leonhard Birnbaum just a few days ago. “Prices are still at a level that we would have thought unthinkable just a few years ago.” Nobody could say exactly where prices will develop in the coming weeks and months.
Energy exchanges jumped from one record to the next
In principle, it is understandable that consumer prices are rising. After all, one megawatt hour of electricity cost 444 euros in daily trading a month ago. Throughout 2022, energy exchanges jumped from one record to the next.
Where electricity was traded for 30 or 40 euros per megawatt hour for many years, some producers collected a peak of between 400 and 600 euros last year. Currently, the price has calmed down somewhat at a significantly lower level. A megawatt hour of electricity in daily trading costs around 150 to 170 euros.
Gas prices have also risen massively in the past year. However, the market has now stabilized here as well. A megawatt hour of natural gas currently costs just under 60 euros – in the summer it was sometimes 350 euros. Overall, the price level remains historically high.
Natural gas could therefore remain more expensive in the future than before the crisis, believes Eon boss Birnbaum. Especially with a view to the coming winter, he cannot yet give the all-clear.
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