Norwegian giant Statkraft chuffed with $2.3bn profit despite tumbling energy prices

Statkraft's net profit of NKr26.1bn ($2.3bn) for 2023 was down almost 10% from the previous year, but earnings were still rated as the Norwegian utility’s second highest ever.

Net operating revenues were NKr65.3bn compared to NKr75.3bn a year earlier, when Europe’s energy crisis sent prices skyrocketing.

Statkraft's annual highlights included an agreement to acquire Spain-based Enerfin for about NKr21bn, bringing a renewable energy platform that includes 1.5GW of wind power into operation and under construction plus a pipeline of renewables projects at various stages of development.

This transaction is expected in the second quarter 2024, Statkraft stated today (Friday).

Statkraft has said it plans to divest Enerfin’s portfolio in Canada, the US, Colombia and Australia, reducing the acquired portfolio to 1.3GW of wind and solar in operation or under construction and a pipeline of 565MW in the core markets Spain and Brazil.

In 2023, Statkraft also announced plans for record-high investments of between NKr44 and NKr67bn in Norwegian hydro and wind power.

“Statkraft delivered its second-best annual result in 2023, as markets continued to stabilise after the extraordinary situation and a record 2022. The results are above historical levels, as the market activities continued to show strong performance even though volatility and prices are much lower,” CEO Christian Rynning-Tønnesen commented on today’s results.

“We are seeing signs that the forward prices are stabilising on a level closer to the price levels seen before the energy crisis.”

Known as Europe’s largest renewable energy producer due to its vast hydro-power assets, Statkraft now plans to expand aggressively into other renewables, with a strategic target is to develop 2.5-3GW of capacity annually from 2025 and 4GW annually from 2030.

“We are on target to deliver our share of the renewable energy that the world needs, with a steadily increasing pipeline of projects and an organisation fit for the challenge”, says Rynning-Tønnesen.

Statkraft said the decrease in profit was partly offset by positive hedging effects and higher power generation. “The results include reversal of impairments of wind farms in the Nordics due to higher future power prices and reduced resource rent tax in Norway,” the company stated.

The company also stated today that its board of directors is still in the process of finding a new CEO after Christian Rynning-Tønnesen's decision to resign after almost 14 years in the position.