On course in the first half of 2013

Investment level maintained (EUR 229 million)

· Customer tariffs more than 10% below authorised maximum
· Successful steering towards a stable profit level (EUR 124 million)
· A three-fold increase in the number of solar installations problem-free for the grid

Han Fennema, Chairman of the Executive Board:

"It is apparent from the financial results that Enexis is a financial solid company and remains on course. We continue to invest in the reliability and safety of our energy grids in accordance with our long-term objectives, also through renewal projects. In this manner, we make a direct social contribution to local economies. We have been able to limit the increase in the customer tariffs, also in 2013. By taking the interest of the customer into account and again not making full use of the permitted increase in tariffs, Enexis helps to keep the customer's energy bill affordable. With this, we have succeeded in achieving a profit level that is in line with the first half of 2012, in spite of the current macroeconomic challenges. A profit level that allows future investments in our energy networks while offering shareholders a reasonable return. The strong increase in de-centralised energy production via solar installations places demands on the electricity grids. We are pleased to observe that this increase has been accommodated in our grids without any problem. As an organisation with a public task and a role in society, we are also proud that nearly 10% of our employees have decided to have solar panels installed on their homes. 

Key figures

The affordability of the energy supply is an important issue for Enexis and therefore the increase in customer tariffs has been limited to the level of inflation. This is why the revenues increased slightly to EUR 688.5 million (first half of 2012: EUR 682.5 million). Enexis has thus not charged an amount of EUR 137 million to its customers.

With this level of revenue, Enexis maintains a good balance between efficient business operations, a sizeable investment programme and a reasonable return for its shareholders, which is reflected in a profit for the period of EUR 124.0 million (first half of 2012: EUR 117.4 million, excluding an amendment in the financial reporting standards: EUR 120.9 million).

In the first half of 2013, the investments in the grids amounted to EUR 228.6 million (first half of 2012: EUR 215.4 million). The electricity outage time increased in the first half of 2013 to 14.4 minutes per connection (first half of 2012: 11.0 minutes), mainly due to a major electricity failure as a result of a fire in a transformer station in Enschede in January 2013. Due to this incident the average electricity outage time was increased by approximately 4.5 minutes per connection. Without this incident, the electricity outage time would have been lower than in the first half of 2012.

Working safely everyday on the job is of utmost importance for our employees. However, working with electricity and gas is never completely risk free. With a score of 0.46, the accident index remained on a comparable level (half year 2012: 0.42).

The number of recorded solar installations within Enexis's servicing area rose in the first half of 2013 by more than 300% to 43,000. Whereby the total production capacity rose to 193 MWp (Mega Watt peak) which is more than half of the total capacity in the Netherlands. Enexis's grids were able to absorb this increase without any problem. Moreover, Enexis has contributed to the sustainability of the Dutch energy system by
actively facilitating the energy transition. For instance, without providing subsidies, Enexis has succeeded in motivating 400 employees to have solar panels installed by local installers. These panels represent a total capacity of 1.2 MWp.