• The transmission system operator is focused on expansion of the important north-south direct current corridors on land and the realization of its first four offshore grid connection systems
• In 2022, Amprion invested a record €1.5 billion in expansion and conversion of the grid infrastructure
• The company continues to add employees, anticipating up to 400 new additions this year

The transmission system operator Amprion is accelerating grid expansion and continues to grow. In the completed financial year, investments reached a new record level of around 1.5 billion euros. The company plans to invest around 22 billion euros in the transmission grid over the next five years.

With its investments, the company addresses the accelerated expansion of renewable energy and the transformation of the energy system. The focus is on the expansion of the important north-south direct current corridors on land and the realization of Amprion’s first four offshore grid connection systems.

“A new phase of the energy transition is beginning, in which we are increasingly moving from planning to implementation. We are currently implementing more projects than ever before,” said Amprion CEO Dr Hans-Jürgen Brick. “In addition, the acceleration initiated by the German government is beginning to have an effect, so that we can implement important projects earlier than originally planned. We are well prepared for the tasks ahead.”

RECORD INVESTMENTS IN ACCELERATED GRID EXPANSION

In the 2022 financial year, Amprion invested a record amount of 1.5 billion euros in the expansion and conversion of the grid infrastructure. This is around 15 percent more than in the previous year. The company obtained permits for more than 200 grid kilometres and was able to complete 115 grid kilometers – more than ever before.

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Due to the acceleration targets set by the German government, Amprion has awarded the world’s first two-gigawatt offshore grid connection systems BalWin1 and BalWin2 and intends to commission them two and three years earlier – in 2029 and 2030 respectively. For the underground cable project from Rastede to Bürstadt (DC 34), the company intends to submit the planning approval documents by mid-2024 – an acceleration of 2 years.

In order to achieve these goals, Amprion continues to grow. The number of employees rose again in the past financial year and was 8.5 percent above the previous year at 2,237 employees (FTE). For the current year, the company plans to hire up to 400 further employees. This corresponds to growth of around 18 percent.

ON A SUCCESSFUL AND STABLE GROWTH PATH

“We focus on stability and flexibility for the financing of increasing investments. Our long-term oriented shareholders support our growth course. Supportive regulatory conditions are another important pre-condition. Together with our flexible debt instruments, we are well prepared for the necessary investment need,” says Peter Rüth, CFO of Amprion. This was also demonstrated by the successful issue of the company’s first green dual-tranche bond last year.

Revenues in accordance with IFRS rose by 36.6 percent year-on-year to around 3.5 billion euros (previous year: around 2.6 billion euros). Revenues from the grid business, Amprion’s core business, increased by 18.6 percent to around 2.1 billion euros (previous year: around 1.8 billion euros). The investments realized in 2022 continue to focus on the expansion of the grid, more than 80 percent are expansion investments. Accordingly, the Regulated Asset Base (RAB), which forms the basis for future revenues, increased by almost 28 percent to around 6.6 billion euros.

As a result of the developments on the electricity and gas markets, high costs have occurred for system services. These include all interventions to stabilize the electricity grid. In 2022, they were about twice as high as in the previous year at around 2.4 billion euros. The costs are covered by regulation and are returned to Amprion with a time delay. This is therefore a temporary burden on the IFRS results.

Thus, the adjusted EBITDA in the past financial year amounted to 772.6 million euros (previous year: 867.0 million euros) and the adjusted net income to 228.2 million euros (previous year: 260.6 million euros).

The adjusted key figures take into account temporary regulatory effects and the accrual-based presentation of system services. The decline is a result of the offsetting of congestion revenue, whose amount depends on external factors. The adjusted consolidated net income is nevertheless at the average level of the past years.

“The year 2022 has again shown that Amprion, with its non-cyclical and stable business model, is economically successful even in a challenging environment,” says Amprion CFO Rüth.

For the current financial year, Amprion expects a stable business performance and an investment need of around 2.8 billion euros.