Strong wind showing boosts Dong earnings

DENMARK: Dong Energy's higher earnings from its wind division helped to lift the group's profits in the first quarter.

The commissioning of Dong's Anholt project helped increase energy production

The firm said that its offshore operations were key to it making a DKK 6.3 billion (EUR 844 million) Ebitda, a 37% increase on the same period last year.

Higher output due to windy weather and the commissioning of the 400MW Anholt project in Danish waters increased wind revenues. The sale of half of its stake in the 630MW London Array project in the UK North Sea also helped boost Ebitda.

Gross investments in the quarter came to DKK 3.8 billion, mainly related to offshore wind and oil and gas fields. The company said net debt would rise again this year party due to further investment in offshore projects.

For the whole of 2014, Dong expects to record Ebitda of DKK 15-17 billion. It plans to make net investments of around DKK 30 billion for the 2014-2015 period.