Business News

Energy group Vattenfall Q3 net profit drops 23 per cent

Oct 27, 2011, 10:47 GMT

Stockholm - Swedish energy group Vattenfall on Thursday reported a 23 per cent drop in third-quarter net profit, citing lower electricity generation.

The net profit in the quarter of 1.34 billion kronor (200 million dollars) compared with a net profit of 1.7 billion kronor in the same period last year, the state-owned group said.

Chief executive Oystein Loseth also blamed lower fair valuation of energy derivatives and inventories for the drop in profit.

Net sales during the period increased 1.6 per cent year-on-year to 38.2 billion kronor, the group said.

Vattenfall said electricity production decreased 3.5 per cent in the quarter. Production from hydropower and wind power increased, while production from nuclear power and fossil fuels dropped.

The group said it was continuing to focus on its core markets in Sweden, Germany and Netherlands, and during the quarter divested businesses in Belgium and Poland.

Vattenfall at the end of September employed some 37,500 people, down 2 per cent compared to the same period in 2010.