Utility group E.ON has seen net profit more than triple in the first half of the year as it benefited from a gas price deal with Russia’s Gazprom and the absence of charges related to Germany’s exit from nuclear power.
German utilities have posted strong first-half results so far, thanks to renegotiated gas purchase contracts and higher selling prices, in a recovery from the downturn caused by the government’s decision last year to shut nuclear power stations.
E.ON’s net profit rose to €3.13 billion (£2.46bn) in the first half, the group said yesterday.
The firm, whose UK arm boasts some eight million customer accounts, stressed that weak electricity demand in Europe was weighing on capacity utilisation, prices and profit margins at its fossil-fuels based generation plants and it may have to consider closing some as a result.
