E.ON targets steady profits in 2019 ahead of innogy deal

German utility E.ON forecast largely stable operating earnings of around three billion euros for 2019 thanks to rising renewables and network profits, reports Christoph Steitz for Reuters. The company also said it expected EU clearance for the planned takeover of Innogy’s grid and customers businesses, as part of an asset swap with innogy owner RWE. The European Commission is currently investigating the deal further. “This too was fully in line with our plans. We’re confident that we’ll obtain the necessary approvals in the second half of the year,” E.ON Chief Executive Johannes Teyssen said.
Competitors of the two big utilities have voiced concerns that the planned asset swap will give RWE and especially E.ON unprecedented influence on German and European energy markets. Critics have said its large would-be client base would allow E.ON to become a market "dominator" with access to a large share of German power customers, a concern that company CEO Teyssen has said is unfounded as there still were enough competitors to chose from.