EQS-News

VERBUND AG: 2023 annual results: VERBUND posts encouraging business performance in 2023

EQS-News: VERBUND AG / Key word(s): Annual Results VERBUND AG: 2023 annual results: VERBUND posts encouraging business performance in 2023 14.03.2024 / 07:58 CET/CEST The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

---

The VERBUND Group’s strategic and economic development in 2023 took place in a highly complex environment that was impacted in no small measure by geopolitical turmoil and macro- and microeconomic factors, along with sector-specific developments and regulatory/political decisions. Overall, 2023 was a very successful year for our Group, and as a strong, resilient company with a good positioning we can look ahead to financial year 2024 with optimism. The military conflicts between Russia and Ukraine as well as in the Middle East changed the structure of Europe’s energy supply with primary fuels, which in turn affected the electricity price trends in the European wholesale markets. Not only did increased procurement of non-Russian gas keep purchase prices high, but price volatility also rose due to growing uncertainty about future developments. In addition, rising inflation combined with repeated interest rate hikes and a slowdown in economic growth weighed on performance in the sector and VERBUND’s own performance. Higher financing and procurement costs impacted investing activities and eroded the profitability of new projects. Furthermore, the sharp rise in electricity and gas prices was passed on to customers only in part and with a time lag, and also led to discussions about changing the electricity market design and taxation of windfall profits. With these difficult conditions as a backdrop, the energy sector is still in the midst of a transformation of the energy system towards decarbonised generation of electricity using new renewable sources of energy. Expansion of the domestic power grid along with further research and integration of storage technologies into the energy system are absolutely essential for developing these more volatile forms of generation and rising to the energy transition challenge.