STOCKHOLM (dpa-AFX) – The Swedish energy supplier Vattenfall started 2022 with a lower profit than in the previous year. In view of continued high and erratic electricity prices and record-high price differences in Scandinavia, the Swedes generated a net surplus of around 6.1 billion Swedish crowns (around 587 million euros) in the first quarter of the current year after 10.4 billion crowns in the same period last year. As the group announced on Friday, net sales rose sharply by 30 percent to almost 59.6 billion crowns (5.8 billion euros).
The Ukraine war and the associated volatility on the market presented the European energy system with challenges, explained Vattenfall boss Anna Borg. The war is above all a humanitarian catastrophe, and it is also affecting the energy market, she told the German Press Agency. The most obvious impact is higher gas and electricity prices.
As a direct result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Vattenfall has decided to stop buying coal and nuclear fuel from Russia. At the EU level, there are also broad discussions about stopping the import of Russian gas. Vattenfall does not import gas, but buys it at the market hubs in Europe, Borg said.
In Germany, Vattenfall observed strong customer growth at the start of the year. In addition, the charging infrastructure for electric vehicles has been expanded. Vattenfall is viewed by consumers as a stable, reliable supplier in times of great market uncertainty, Borg said.
After a financially exceptional 2021, Borg now expects 2022 to be a little more normal. “2021 was a record year for us with many one-off effects,” she said. These effects included, among other things, compensation payments for the German nuclear phase-out and the sale of the Berlin power grid./trs/DP/mis