Rising Nordic power prices lifted Statkraft’s fourth-quarter results

Norwegian power company Statkraft ended last year with a solid quarter which saw underlying EBIT of NOK4.9 billion (€502 million) – an increase of €157 million from the same period in 2017.

Statkraft had EBIT of NOK15 billion for the full year, a rise from 2017’s NOK10.8 billion. Profits before tax were NOK20.6 billion, the company said in its update. Net profits of NOK1.57 billion for the last three months contributed to an overall NOK13.4 billion figure for 2018.

Statkraft cited rising Nordic power prices and large gains from transactions as significant drivers for its healthy update. The average Nordic energy price in the quarter was €47.7/MWh, an increase of 56% from the final three months of 2017.

Total generation fell to 16.1 TWh in the quarter, down 1.2 TWh on the figure recorded a year earlier. In 2018, Statkraft’s generation reached 61.7 TWh, down 1% from the previous year. The average energy price at Nord Pool was €44/MWh, an increase of 49% year-on-year.

Lucrative power supply deals

Aside from higher power prices, Statkraft said it benefited from its Performance Improvement Program cost reduction plan, which was likely to yield annual savings of up to NOK800 million. Last year, the company saved NOK625 million, with more savings expected this year.

The power company also entered agreements to sell and buy energy. For example, in Norway Statkraft signed two eight-year power contracts with Norske Skog to deliver 14 TWh of power.

In Germany, Statkraft will sell energy from community wind farms to Mercedes-Benz. The carmaker has pledged to power all eight of its German vehicle and powertrain plants with CO_²-free electricity by 2022, and says the agreement with Statkraft is the first step to achieving that goal. Under the PPA, energy from six community-owned wind farms – totaling 46 MW – managed by Statkraft, will power Mercedes’ plant in Bremen and other locations.

In Albania, the company is planning to collocate a 2 MW floating PV plant with one of its hydropower stations. And in Spain, Statkraft was involved in a 15-year PPA for the 175 MW Don Rodrigo plant, claimed to be Europe’s first unsubsidized utility-scale PV project.