Rwe Ag Ord S/Adr

Welcome to the RWE conference call. Michael Mueller, CFO of RWE AG, will inform you about the developments in the first three quarters of fiscal 2025. I will now hand over to Thomas Denny.

Thank you, Laura, and welcome and good afternoon from Essen. Thank you for joining RWE's nine-month investment analyst conference call today. Our CFO, Michael Müller, will guide you through our key highlights and financial performance for the first nine months and the outlook for the current year. And with that, let me hand over to Michael.

Thanks Thomas, and also good afternoon to all of you. In the first nine months of 2025, our portfolio has shown a strong financial performance. We have achieved more than 80% of our full year 2025 adjusted EPS target. In the UK, we concluded the sale of a data center development project at a former RDB power plant site to a hyperscaler. The transaction was closed and the proceeds received in October. The book gain of 225 million euros is reported as non-recurring in the Q3 2025 adjusted EBITDA of the flexible generation segment. This is the second such transaction with a hyperscaler. Last year, we sold the site in Germany to Microsoft. Both transactions demonstrate the value of RWE's existing sites. These sites can be used for data center development projects as well as for new battery storage facilities or gas-fired power plants. Our build-out program is progressing well, with 11.4 GW under construction as at the end of Q3. More than 2 gigawatts are scheduled to start operation by the end of the year. All of our offshore construction projects are well on schedule. In September this year, we entered into the long-term partnership with Apollo Global Management to secure funding for our 25.1 stake in Amprion. Apollo has contributed 3.2 billion euros. It will be accounted for as equity and will further strengthen our balance sheet. As the amount will be invested into Amprion, the effect will roll off over time. The transaction allows us to benefit from future returns of Amprion's regulated grid business and provides us with flexibility going forward. We expect closing in the coming weeks. Our 1.5 billion euro share buyback program is proceeding well. Currently, the second 500 million euro tranche is ongoing and is expected to be finalized by the end of this year. We will launch the third tranche shortly thereafter. Since the start of the program, we have bought back 26.5 million shares at an average price of 34 euros. Our dividend target of 1.2 euro for fiscal year 2025 is confirmed. Let's now take a closer look at the nine-month financials. As expected, adjusted EBITDA is lower due to normalized prices, weak wind conditions in Europe, and a low trading result in the first half of 2025. In total, adjusted EBITDA came in at 3.5 billion euros. In offshore wind, adjusted EBITDA was 915 million euros. Earnings were below last year due to weak wind conditions in H1 and lower hedge prices. Q3 wind has been in line with expectations. Onshore wind and solar recorded an EBITDA of 1.2 billion euros. This was mostly driven by capacity additions and higher hedge prices in the US. Year on year, we have added more than 1.5 gigawatts in the US. This was partly offset by weaker wind conditions and lower hedge prices in Europe. Adjusted EBITDA of the flexible generation business was 1.1 billion euros. As mentioned earlier, we recorded a non-recurring book gain from the sale of a data center development project in the UK. In our operating business, we have seen lower earnings reflecting normalized prices. Our supply and trading business showed a good trading performance in the third quarter after a low first half. The nine-month result stood at 150 million euros. Other consolidation was 111 million euros, reflecting a better-than-expected performance of Amprion. The year-on-year adjusted financial result improved due to an increase of capitalized interest during construction. In the first nine months of 2025, capitalized interest amounted to 570 million euros. Adjusted depreciation stood at minus 1.5 billion euros and increased in line with our growth program. For adjusted tax rate, we applied the general tax rate of 20% for the RWE group. Adjusted net income stood at 1.3 billion euros, resulting in an adjusted earnings per share of 1.76 euros. The adjusted operating cash flow was 3.9 billion euros at the end of Q3. Changes in provisions and non-cash items were driven by provision utilization and the non-cash earnings contribution of our equity stake in Amprion and Kelag, where the share of net income recorded in our EBITDA exceeded the dividends of those participations. Non-cash items also include the book gain from the sale of the data center development program in UK, where proceeds were received in October. Changes in operating working capital were mainly driven by a decrease of inventory of gas in storage and trade receivables, partly offset by a decrease of trade tables. The debt stood at 15.7 billion euros. In the first nine months, we have invested 4.6 billion euros net in the growth of our offshore wind, onshore wind and solar, and flexible generation businesses. Gross investments were offset by disposal proceeds, such as from the sell-down of 49% of our 1.6 GW North Sea Cluster project and our 1.1 GW Thor project. Other changes in net financial debt amounted to 2.7 billion euros, mainly driven by timing effects from hedging and trading activities, new lease contracts, and share buybacks. This was partly compensated by FX effects due to a weaker US dollar. At the end of the year, we expect net debts to be around 12.5 billion euros on the back of the Apollos transaction. Let us now take a look at our construction program. Our projects are progressing well. As we speak, we have 11.4 gigawatts of capacity under construction, diversified across technologies and regions. More than 2 gigawatts are scheduled to start operation by the end of the year, mainly on show wind, solar, and battery projects. The construction program also includes more than 600 megawatts of US solar and battery projects with attractive return profiles, for which we took the investment decision in Q3. After the IRS provided clarity on safe harboring of tax credits, we see attractive investment opportunities on the back of the AI and data center-driven power demand growth in the US. However, we maintain our strict investment criteria. Tax credits and off-takes must be secured. All necessary permits must be obtained and the tariff risk must be mitigated. Our offshore wind projects are also well on schedule. At SOFIA, our 1.4 gigawatt project in the UK, all of the 100 foundations and more than half of the turbines are installed. We expect first power by the end of the year. Full commercial operation will be in 2026. Our offshore wind project Thor, North Sea Cluster A and Oranje Wind are also making good progress and are well on track. For 2025, we confirm our outlook. With a strong nine months results, we are now even more confident with our guidance. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be between 4.55 and 5.15 billion euros. Adjusted net income will range from 1.3 to 1.8 billion euros, and adjusted earnings per share between 1.8 and 2.5 euros. The dividend target is 1.2 euros per share for this year. And now, let me hand back to Thomas.