Weak coal and nuclear performance weighs on RWE’s balance sheet

A lower power production from coal and nuclear plants, as well as lower wholesale power prices, have dented the profits of German RWE, the energy company’s annual balance sheet for 2018 has revealed. Adjusted earnings before income and taxes fell from 2.1 to 1.5 billion euros last year, reducing its profits from 973 to 591 million euros. Regarding the future performance of the company's nuclear and coal division, RWE said this will largely depend on how the German coal exit commission’s proposals are going to be implemented. The company also cited “legal decisions in relation to Hambach Forest” as one reason for its weakened performance, where a lawsuit which was recently rejected saw RWE’s mine expansion operations halted in late 2018. However, the company says that 2019 will be “an exciting year for RWE” that is going to be dominated by the planned asset swap with fellow energy company E.ON. “The transaction with E.ON is proceeding well and we want to complete it in the second half of 2019,” said RWE CEO Rolf Martin Schmitz, adding that it will give birth to “the ‘new RWE’” that is going to focus on renewable power production and intends to expand its activities in the Americas and the Asia-Pacific regions.