E.On reports 41% rise in profit weeks after hiking bills for UK customers

Energy firm said UK political environment is “disappointing”, with price cap still pending

E.On is headquartered in Essen, Germany (Reuters)

Energy firm E.On has reported a 41 per cent increase in profit for the first quarter of the year, after adding more than 50,000 customers in its German operation.

The utility group posted profit of €1.03bn (£904m), compared with €735m in the same period of 2017, while earnings rose 24 per cent from €1bn to €1.3bn.

The results come weeks after the company hiked energy bills for its UK customers, after introducing changes to its pricing structure, while customers who pay for their energy quarterly by cash or cheque rather than by direct debit also now face an additional charge of £10 per year, per fuel.

E.On said in its update for the quarter that the UK political environment is “disappointing”, with an energy price cap still looming and “many uncertainties” ongoing.

E.On’s energy networks segment generated more than half of the group’s earnings in the first three months of the year, and the renewables arm increased capacity in the same period, with new wind farms added. Despite a drop in sales prices for renewables power output, earnings rose 7 per cent to €171m.

“The first quarter seamlessly continued our positive performance of last year,” said E.On’s chief financial officer, Marc Spieker.

“Our operating business is strong. We achieved significant growth by adding more than 50,000 customers in Germany. This is a fine achievement by the colleagues at our sales business and demonstrates that customers trust us.”

Mr Spieker said the key figures and developments for the group were in line with its plans for the first quarter, so it still expects to report earnings of between €2.8bn and €3bn for the full year.