The transmission system operator Amprion is accelerating the expansion of the grid and is continuing to grow. In the past fiscal year, investments reached a new record of around 1.5 billion euros. The company plans to invest around 22 billion euros in the transmission grid over the next five years.

With its investments, the company considers the accelerated expansion of renewable energies and the restructuring of the energy system. The focus is on expanding the important north-south direct current corridors on land and implementing Amprion’s first four offshore grid connection systems.

“A new phase of the energy transition is beginning, in which we are increasingly moving from planning to implementation. We are currently realising more projects than ever before,” said Amprion CEO Dr. Hans Jürgen Brick. “In addition, the acceleration initiated by the federal government is beginning to have an effect, so that we can implement important projects earlier than originally planned. We are well prepared for the tasks ahead.”

Record investments in accelerated grid expansion

In the 2022 financial year, Amprion invested a record sum of 1.5 billion euros in the expansion and conversion of the network infrastructure. That is around 15 percent more than in the previous year. The company has received permits for more than 200 kilometres of pipeline and has completed 115 kilometres of pipeline – more than ever before.

Due to the acceleration goals of the federal government, Amprion has awarded the world’s first two-gigawatt offshore grid connection systems BalWin1 and BalWin2 and will put them into operation two and three years earlier, respectively – in 2029 and 2030. For the underground cable project from Rastede to Bürstadt (DC 34), the company intends to submit the planning approval documents by mid-2024 – an acceleration of 2 years.

In order to be able to achieve these goals, Amprion continues to grow. The number of employees rose again in the past financial year and, at 2,237 employees (FTE), was 8.5 percent above the previous year. For the current year, the company plans to hire another 400 employees. This corresponds to growth of almost 18 percent.

On a successful and stable growth path

“We rely on stability and flexibility to finance the increasing investments. Our long-term oriented shareholders support our growth course. Supporting regulatory framework conditions are another important prerequisite. Together with our flexible debt capital instruments, we are well positioned for the necessary investment needs,” says Peter Rüth, CFO of Amprion. This was also demonstrated by the successful issue of the company’s first green dual-tranche bond last year.

Revenue, according to IFRS, rose by 36.6 percent year-on-year to around EUR 3.5 billion (previous year: around EUR 2.6 billion). Revenues from the network business, Amprion’s core business, increased by 18.6 percent to around EUR 2.1 billion (previous year: around EUR 1.8 billion). The investments realised in 2022 continue to focus on the expansion of the network, more than 80 percent are expansion investments. Accordingly, the Regulated Asset Base (RAB), which forms the basis for future revenues, rose by almost 28 percent to around EUR 6.6 billion.

High costs for ancillary services have arisen as a result of developments on the electricity and gas markets. These include all interventions to stabilise the power grid. In 2022, at around 2.4 billion euros, they were about twice as high as in the previous year. The costs are covered by the regulation and will be returned to Amprion after a delay. It is, therefore, a temporary burden on the IFRS results.

The adjusted EBITDA in the past financial year was EUR 772.6 million (previous year: EUR 867.0 million), and the adjusted consolidated net income was EUR 228.2 million (previous year: EUR 260.6 million).

The adjusted key figures take into account temporary regulatory effects and the accrual presentation of ancillary services. The decline is a result of offsetting congestion revenues, the amount of which depends on external factors. However, the adjusted net income is at the average level of the past few years.

“The year 2022 has shown once again that Amprion, with its non-cyclical and stable business model, is economically successful even in a challenging environment,” says Amprion CFO Rüth.

Amprion expects stable business development for the current financial year and an investment requirement of around 2.8 billion euros.

The complete financial report 2022 of Amprion GmbH can be found under this link.

Source: https://www.amprion.net/
Image source: Courtesy of Amprion GmbH/123Trim

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