Austria's Verbund Doubles CCGT Output

Austria’s main electricity generator Verbund said in annual results March 15 that its 2017 profits fell but that its only large gas-fired power plant more than doubled its output.

Verbund is 51% owned by the Austrian state, with 49% having been privatised in 1988. Most of its generation capacity is hydro-electric, but it has an 848 megawatt gas-fired combined cycle (CCGT) power plant at Mellach, near the southern Austrian city of Graz.

In 2017, Verbund reversed €78mn of impairments on that CCGT due to the improvement in the market for gas-fired power last year. Morever, the Mellach CCGT produced 1,465 GWh last year, which was 825 GWh more electricity than in 2016.  Verbund said Mellach CCGT’s book value at end-2017 was €95mn (versus €18mn one year earlier).

The company also said it settled various outstanding issues with OMV-run EconGas relating to gas deliveries to its power plant.  Verbund also increased its gas and electricity retail customer base at year-end to 447,000 at end-2017, from 392,000 one year earlier.

Verbund's net profit fell by 29% to €301.4m, while pretax earnings (Ebitda) declined by 11% to €922.3m. It expects these to decline further in 2018 to around €300m and €850m respectively.