NOS News•
The profit of energy company Vattenfall fell dry during the turbulent energy year 2022. Instead of a billion-dollar profit, only 1.9 million euros remained under the line. Nevertheless, the Swedish company looks back on the past year with a good feeling.
Vattenfall is the first of the major energy suppliers in the Netherlands to publish figures for last year. The low profit is mainly due to the large price fluctuations in energy prices last year. Due to old contracts, many Vattenfall customers were still able to purchase gas and electricity for relatively little money. While the company itself had spent a lot of money on purchasing the much more expensive energy.
In addition, the company had a hefty windfall in 2021. Vattenfall then received billions in compensation from the German government for the earlier closure of nuclear reactors. That pumped up profits that year, making the contrast with the profit of 2022 even greater.
Do not panic
Nevertheless, top woman Anna Borg relaxedly explained the figures this morning. Anyone who looked beyond the profit figures saw a company that is glowing with health, was her message. If you omit the temporary price differences between purchasing and selling and do not include the windfalls from 2021, you will see that Vattenfall is in a better position than before, she said.
The management therefore proposes to maintain a profit distribution for shareholders of 4 billion Swedish kronor (350 million euros).
The company also opened new wind farms and attracted many more customers. In Germany alone, Vattenfall gained 400,000 customers. The company thus benefits from the high electricity prices.
‘Away from gas, full in green’
Borg also discussed the different energy ceilings in Europe and handed out a small sneer. “In Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands, ceilings have already been introduced,” said Borg. So far, that has had little impact on the company’s earnings, she explained. “But government interventions do lead to uncertainty. That holds back investments.”
According to her, these investments are precisely necessary to put an end to the roller coaster on the energy market. According to her, Europe must become less dependent on geopolitical developments. “Stop gas, invest in green. That’s the only way out.”
