MVV Energie reports positive start to new financial year

The Mannheim-based energy company MVV Energie (WKN: A0H52F, ISIN: DE000A0H52F5) has begun its new 2010/11 financial year with sales and earnings growth. When presenting the financial report for the 1^st quarter (1 October - 31 December 2010) in Mannheim on Tuesday, company CEO Dr. Georg Müller singled out the winter temperatures in November and December and the Group's success in its national energy sales business as the key factors driving the company's increased energy turnover. "The weather was significantly colder than in the previous year, especially in December 2010. Following comparatively mild temperatures in January 2011, it now remains to be seen what impact the weather will have on our business in the 2010/11 financial year as a whole". For the overall financial year, assuming normal weather conditions the company still expects to be able to match its previous year's sales and earnings figures.

According to the CEO, the company boosted its sales for the past three months year-on-year by 13 percent from Euro 839 million to Euro 947 million. MVV Energie managed to increase its district heating turnover by 15 percent and its gas turnover by 10 percent. Accordingly, district heating and gas sales rose from Euro 126 million to Euro 142 million and from Euro 120 million to Euro 147 million respectively. Electricity turnover surged 27 percent to 6.6 billion kilowatt hours.

This positive sales performance is also reflected in the increase in adjusted operating earnings (adjusted EBIT), which increased year-on-year by 7 percent from Euro 85 million to Euro 91 million. Adjusted EBT, i.e. adjusted earnings before taxes on income, grew from Euro 58 million to Euro 76 million. Net of income taxes and minority interests, the company's adjusted net surplus for the period amounted to Euro 45 million in the 1^st quarter of 2010/11, as against Euro 37 million in the previous year. This corresponds to adjusted earnings per share of Euro 0.68, compared with Euro 0.55 in the 1^st quarter of 2009/10.

New reporting structure

The Mannheim-based energy company has for the first time reported its results using its new reporting segments, which are consistent with its new value chain-based planning and control approach. These segments cover all stages of the value chain from generation and grids via trading through to sales. For information purposes, the previous year's figures for individual reporting segments, previously based on the products of electricity, district heating, gas, water, energy-related services and environmental energy, have been derived in line with the new reporting structure and in some cases calculated as pro forma figures.

The strongest segments in terms of sales are the "Sales and Services" reporting segment, which includes all of the Group's sales activities and its energy-related services business, with sales of Euro 549 million (previous year: Euro 523 million) and the "Trading and Portfolio Management" reporting segment with sales of Euro 200 million (previous year: Euro 136 million). Due to weather conditions, sales in the "Strategic Investments" reporting segment, which comprises the municipal utility companies in Solingen, Ingolstadt and Köthen, as well as the Czech subgroup, also grew from Euro 92 million to Euro 110 million. Sales in the "Generation and Infrastructure" reporting segment, which includes conventional power plants, energy from waste plants, renewable energies plants, waterworks and the electricity, district heating, gas and water grids, rose only slightly from Euro 86 million to Euro 87 million.

The largest share of earnings in the 1^st quarter of 2010/11 was attributable to "Generation and Infrastructure", which generated earnings contributions of Euro 33 million as against Euro 31 million in the previous year. This segment thus accounted for 36 percent of the Group¿s adjusted EBIT. The "Sales and Services" segment contributed adjusted EBIT of Euro 23 million (previous year: Euro 20 million), followed by "Strategic Investments" with Euro 20 mil-lion (previous year: Euro 18 million) and "Trading and Portfolio Management" with Euro 14 million (previous year: Euro 16 million).

Comments Dr. Müller: "The great challenges we face in the changing energy market necessitate permanent willingness to change and adapt. We have laid the necessary foundations at our municipally-rooted group of companies. Although large parts of the energy policy framework are still undecided, even after the adoption of the Federal Government's Energy Concept, we will increasingly be building on renewable energies and energy efficiency." MVV Energie also aims to exploit its leading position in the waste market. The CEO added that the awarding of preferred bidder status in a pan-European tender for a waste-fired heating energy plant in Plymouth in south-western England had provided "current confirmation" of the company's position in this area.

Note: the complete financial report for the 1^st quarter of the 2010/11 financial year can be found on the internet in the download section of our investor relations site at

www.mvv-investor.de

.