DGAP-News

EVN AG: Business development in the first quarter of the 2014/15 financial year - Seite 3

sodium hypochlorite plant.

Net debt declined 20.5% below the level on 30 September 2014 to EUR
1,352.5m. Equity increased 1.4%, to EUR 2,669.8m based on the higher
earnings recorded in the first quarter of 2014/15. As a consequence, the
equity ratio improved to 40.0% as of 31 December 2014 (30 September 2014:
38.5%). Gearing fell to 50.7% (30 September 2014: 61.6%). The EUR 0.42
dividend per share for the business year 2013/14 that was approved by the
86th Annual General Meeting on 15 January 2015 was paid on 28 January 2015
and is therefore not yet reflected as a deduction from equity.

Developments in the energy and project business

Energy business

In the context of "EVN's investment offensive", EVN is investing 1 billion
euros into security of supply, renewable energy as well as clean drinking
water in Lower Austria in the coming four years.

In the first quarter 2014/15 in connection with EVN's investment strategy,
network infrastructure investments were pursued in order to safeguard
supply security in Lower Austria. Projects in the electricity network
concentrated on infrastructure development to accommodate the steadily
rising feed-in from the continued expansion of generation from renewable
energy sources in the network area. The 110 kV network was strengthened,
and the transformer stations were expanded to transport the increased
feed-in of electricity generated by wind energy. Activities centred on the
expansion and strengthening of the distribution grid to safeguard supply
security for customers.

In the area of electricity and heat generation from renewable sources the
focus was on the construction of the Prottes-Ollersdorf windpark as well as
on the expansion of the district heating plants and networks.

As of 1 January 2015, the regulated network tariffs in Lower Austria were
reduced by roughly 1% for electricity and roughly 3% for natural gas. The
energy price for electricity was previously reduced as of 1 October 2014
within the framework of the EnergieAllianz. This lowered the energy price
by 10% for an average household in Lower Austria with power consumption of
3,500 kWh per year.

Environmental service business

In the international project business, EVN is currently working on the
realisation of eight projects. A contract was signed in November 2014 for
the expansion of the local wastewater purification plant in the Romanian
city of Zalau to service 85,000 inhabitants. This project covers the
completion and expansion of the existing plant as well as the construction