Norwegian state-owned utility Statkraft AS on Friday reported after-tax profit of NOK 4.4 billion (USD 395.4m/EUR 370m) for the third quarter, up by 15.8% year-on-year, boasting of solid performance despite witnessing a significant drop in power prices across Europe.
It helped that the Norwegian krone strengthened against the euro, British pound, and US dollar, and that the weather was wetter than usual, which enabled Statkraft to generate more hydro power in Norway. The company also highlighted significantly improved hedging effects from Nordic assets and strong performance from energy management and market activities.
The third-quarter underlying operating profit (EBIT) plunged by 45.6% to NOK 4.9 billion. Net operating revenues fell by 24.5% year-on-year to NOK 10.6 billion, as European power prices climbed down from their extraordinary highs in 2022 and energy markets stabilised.
During the three-month period, the average system price in the Nordic region was EUR 28 per MWh, compared to EUR 176.4/MWh in the third quarter of 2022. The average base price in the German market was EUR 90.9/MWh, down from EUR 372.5/MWh in the year-ago quarter.
“The market conditions have changed significantly compared to the extreme prices in the third quarter last year, fuelled by the energy crises and the war in Ukraine,” said Statkraft CEO Christian Rynning-Tønnesen.
“However, Statkraft delivered stable operations, value-creating energy management and profitable market activities, all contributing to maintaining solid results despite much lower prices,” the outgoing CEO added.
In the three months through September, Statkraft generated 12.5 TWh of clean electricity from its hydro, wind, biomass and solar power plants around the world, marking an increase in green energy output of 7.8% year-on-year. The company’s hydroelectric plants were the only ones that improved production significantly, whereas generation from other technologies remained unchanged compared to the year-ago period.
(NOK 10 = USD 0.899/EUR 0.841)
