Due to price decline

EVN: Significantly lower revenue and profit in 2023/24

(Bild: P. Huber)

The Lower Austrian energy supplier EVN generated significantly lower revenue and profit in the 2023/24 financial year, primarily due to the sharp decline in prices on the energy markets. Revenue fell by 13.6 percent to just under 3.257 billion euros, while the Group result fell by 11.0 percent to 471.7 million euros. 

EVN's 2023/24 financial year was characterized by mild temperatures in Austria as well as in Bulgaria and North Macedonia, which led to lower energy demand. The electricity and gas sales business for end customers in Lower Austria was negative for the second year in a row, according to the company. Wholesale prices for electricity and gas fell in all three of EVN's core markets. In the international project business, sales revenue fell due to the completion of the sewage treatment plant in Kuwait.

Higher personnel costs
Personnel expenses rose by 13.1% to EUR 473.9 million due to wage increases and a higher headcount. At EUR 212.8 million, other operating expenses were 5.3% higher than in the previous year. This includes an impairment of a receivable in the international project business in the amount of EUR 22.5 million in the first quarter of 2023/24 due to an arbitration ruling.

Higher dividend
The operating result (EBIT) fell from EUR 528.5m to EUR 426.2m. EVN's financial result amounted to EUR 135.3m (previous year: EUR 127.6m). This improvement is primarily due to the higher dividend from Verbund AG for the 2023 financial year, according to the press release. The EVN Managing Board intends to propose the distribution of a dividend of EUR 0.90 per share for the 2023/24 financial year at the Annual General Meeting. For the 2022/23 financial year, the utility paid a dividend of EUR 0.52 and a special dividend of EUR 0.62, i.e. a total of EUR 1.14 per share.

EVN expects Group net profit in the range of EUR 400m to EUR 440m for the 2024/25 financial year. The dividend policy remains unchanged. The dividend payout for the financial years from 2024/25 should amount to at least EUR 0.82 per share. The medium-term target is a payout ratio of 40% of Group net profit adjusted for extraordinary effects.