Statkraft's Q1 Profit Rises on Higher Power Prices and Market Volatility
Statkraft Reports Strong First Quarter Results
Operating Profit and Financial Performance
OSLO, May 7 (Reuters) - Norway's biggest utility, state-owned Statkraft, reported on Thursday a rise in underlying operating profit for the first quarter as cold weather, less wind output and low reservoir levels lifted prices.
Underlying profit before interest and tax was 11.6 billion crowns ($1.25 billion) against 9.0 billion a year earlier.
CEO Statement on Market Conditions
• "Higher power prices across all Norwegian price areas, combined with increased contributions from Markets, drove the results," CEO Birgitte Ringstad Vartdal said in a statement.
• "The results were impacted by significant volatility in the European and Nordic energy markets, driven by geopolitical uncertainty and a continuing weak hydrological balance affecting power generation in Norway," she said.
Power Prices and Market Drivers
• The Nordic system price for power, the region's benchmark, averaged 90.5 euros per megawatt hour (MWh) in the quarter, nearly doubling from 46.0 euros/MWh a year ago.
• The main drivers behind the increase were cold weather and low generation from wind power as well as a dry outlook in combination with low reservoir and snow levels, Statkraft said.
Additional Information
($1 = 9.2983 Norwegian crowns)
(Reporting by Nora Buli and Anna Ringstrom, editing by Terje Solsvik)
