Energy Alpiq generates less revenue and profit in the first half of the year

The energy group Alpiq generated massively lower revenue and profit in the first half of 2024 than in the previous year. The market situation was characterized by falling prices and very low volatility.

The Group's net revenue fell by 41 percent to CHF 2.88 billion due to lower electricity prices, Alpiq announced on Friday. This means that revenue has normalized somewhat following the significant increases of previous years due to price rises on the energy markets.

In the first half of the year, however, there was high availability and comparatively low demand on the electricity market, explained Alpiq. Meanwhile, electricity production of 7740 gigawatt hours was practically on a par with the previous year.

The past winter was exceptionally mild and there was very high precipitation in the Alpine region. Together with continued low demand, this led to falling market prices, which slowly approached pre-crisis levels.

Lower operating profit

The energy group's operating business was also weaker. Operating profit before depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) reached CHF 0.76 billion in the months from January to June, compared to a surplus of CHF 1.01 billion in the first half of 2023. Adjusted, operating profit was CHF 463 million, compared to CHF 787 million in the previous year.

Below the line, Alpiq still earned CHF 533 million. This is 28 percent less than in the previous year. The adjusted profit of 287 million was almost half as much.

Going forward, Alpiq expects a positive development in an "increasingly normalizing market" for the second half of 2024. The company continues to expect a good result for the year as a whole, although this is likely to be below the previous year's level.

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SDA