EVN AG — Earnings Release 2002

Dec 13, 2002

News Details

Ad-hoc | 13 December 2002 08:00

EVN AG english

2001/02 at a glance Ad-hoc-announcement processed and transmitted by DGAP. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. ——————————————————————————– 2001/02 at a glance – Higher volumes sold and sales revenues despite unfavourable conditions. – Operating result up on the previous year. – Increase in net result. – Austrian solutions for electricity and gas. – Topping out of the thermal waste treatment plant. 2001/02 Change % Volumes Electricity(1) GWh 8,623.9 +10.9 sold Gas(1) m m3 1,895.2 +43.4 Heat GWh 785.9 +8.9 Water(2) m m3 24.0 +2.6 EUR m Sales revenues 1,113.9 +9.8 Operating result (EBIT) 127.9 +5.7 Profit before tax 137.6 +8.9 Net result 89.5 +1.9 EUR Dividend per share(3) 0.70 — 1) Includes trading and sales to other energy companies 2) The value for the preceding year was subsequently calculated for the purposes of comparison (evn wasser was first taken over and included in the consolidated financial statements in July 2001) 3) Proposal to the AGM Outlook CEO Dr. Rudolf Gruber: “In spite of the difficult conditions that prevailed in the 2001/02 financial year, EVN succeeded in clearly outstripping the operating result for 2000/01. However, the severe pressures on energy business margins resulting from the complete deregulation of the electricity market in October 2001 and the subsequent deregulation of the Austrian gas market on October 1, 2002, will also continue in the future. Nonetheless, the extensive consolidation of the Austrian electricity and gas markets achieved in recent months has opened up future prospects for a corporate structure and market positioning ideally suited to open market competition. In the short-term, the realisation of this concept will involve extensive restructuring of company organisations and procedures and a related burden on results. However, in the medium- and long-term, we anticipate considerable synergies and economies of scale from the merger of our electricity and gas business. These will provide a basis for sustained, positive company development in years to come. EVN will also gain additional impetus from the diversification of its portfolio into related business areas. The successful entry into the water market and the soon to be completed waste incineration plant in Dürnrohr validate EVN’s development into a multi-service utility, which serves its customers as a modern and universal supplier in the areas of energy and infrastructure. Please find the Annual Report on the new Investor Relations homepage of EVN at http://www.investor.evn.at For further information contact: Michael Längle (Chief Financial Officer) Tel. +43 2236 200 12324 Georg Waldner (Investor Relations Officer) Tel. +43 2236 200 12718 end of ad-hoc-announcement (c)DGAP 13.12.2002 Issuer’s information/explanatory remarks concerning this ad-hoc-announcement: Sales revenues up by 9.8 % Despite the generally negative conditions of the past financial year, EVN sales revenues demonstrated a positive trend and rose by a total of 9.8 %. This is mainly due to sales increases in the energy segments and contributions from the new business areas. Expenditure on electricity and primary energy purchases in 2001/02 was up by 12.4 % from the level of the preceding year, which reflects a long-term trend. Apart from the increased level of electricity purchasing prices this development was mainly the result of a considerable rise in the volumes sold. The cost of materials and services rose by 20.8 % over the previous year. This was due partly to the enlargement of the scope of consolidation, as evn wasser was only included in the fourth quarter of the preceding year and AVN was first consolidated on the balance sheet date of the comparable period, and partly to the higher cost of maintenance derived from the one-off expenses caused by defects and the repair of flood damage from August 2002. During the period under review, personnel expenses rose by 5.0 %. In addition to the expansion in the scope of consolidation and an increase in the collective wage agreement on November 1, 2001 by an average of 3.6 % (although this was for a period of 15 months), this rise can be traced to the fact that the comparable value of the preceding year was extremely low due to the write-back of provisions, which occurred in the course of a pension rights settlement. The average number of Group employees during the period under review fell slightly by 0.2 % to 2,199. Depreciation fell by just 0.6 % over the preceding year and therefore remained virtually constant. Other operating expenses increased by a substantial 21.3 % as a consequence of the damage caused by the devastating floods in August 2002. However, expansion in the scope of consolidation also played a decisive part in this development. EBIT up by 5.7 % Despite the difficult general conditions, the operating result (EBIT) for the 2001/02 financial year rose by EUR 6.9 m, or 5.7 %, to EUR 127.9 m. Consequently, an EBIT margin of 11.5 % was achieved. Financial result up In spite of revaluation of interests to the lower market value as stipulated under the IAS and lower result from interest derived from the issue of a EUR 300 m bond the financial result came in at EUR 9.7 m, EUR 4.4 m or 81.5 % up on the figure for the preceding year. This was mainly a consequence of the marking to market of financial instruments, which largely resulted from the favourable JPY exchange rate trend. Net result also above previous year’s level Against this background, the result before tax for the financial year 2001/02 amounts to EUR 137.6 m, which was EUR 11.3 m, or 8.9 %, up on the preceding year. Following the deduction of taxes on profit and minority interests, the net profit was EUR 89.5 m, or 1.9 %, up on the previous year. The result achieved during the 2001/02 financial year corresponds with a return on equity (ROE) of 8.7 % (previous year: 9.4 %) and a return on capital employed (ROCE) of 6.1 % (previous year: 6.4 %). Stable dividend The Board will again propose a dividend of EUR 0.70 per share for the 2001/02 financial year to the Annual General Meeting. ——————————————————————————– WKN: 074105; ISIN: AT0000741053; Index: ATX Listed: Amtlicher Handel in Wien; Amtlicher Markt in Frankfurt und München; Freiverkehr in Berlin, Hamburg und Stuttgart 130800 Dez 02