BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 8
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
Total income of Swiss Axpo company, which is one of the shareholders of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) project, has increased to CHF 2,787 million (+ CHF 236 million year on year) in the first half of 2019/20, Trend reports citing the company.
This was a result of higher electricity sales and a significantly higher trading result, with the opportunities presented by the market exploited across all trading areas.
Excluding the effects of the pandemic, Axpo recorded a strong operating profit, up by 26.9 percent on a comparable basis. The record result by Trading & Sales and the good operating profits from CKW and Assets contributed to this.
“However, the coronavirus pandemic triggered volatility on financial markets that weighed heavily on the good operating result. Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) were down CHF 74 million year on year (prior-year period: CHF 403 million) at CHF 329 million. At this level, the fluctuations in the value of the funds for the decommissioning and disposal of nuclear power plants (STENFO) had a clearly negative impact in the reporting period (CHF –167 million),” said Axpo.
The result for the period was even more severely affected. “The fluctuations in the value of the STENFO funds and the return on the securities portfolio also led to a significantly lower financial result compared with the previous year, resulting in a loss of CHF 24 million for the period (prior-year period: profit of CHF 435 million).”
Axpo is continuing its efforts to minimize the negative effects of the coronavirus crisis. Axpo’s strong position in its home market of Switzerland continues to be key to its strategy. It will also continue expanding energy trading, international customer business and the marketing of renewable energy in Europe. For Axpo, Volkswind and Urbasolar are the right platforms for achieving profitable growth in the international wind and photovoltaic business. This focus will allow synergies along the entire value chain to be harnessed. It will also be able to proactively exploit the opportunities arising from the complementary market trends of digitalisation, decarbonisation and decentralisation.
The economic slump caused by the pandemic and the associated uncertainties on the financial markets may have a direct impact on the Axpo Group’s results.
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