The European Energy Exchange (EEX) in line with its growth strategy achieved record results in both sales and profits in 2015.
In the course of the year, EEX Group, now fully incorporated with the companies Powernext, EPEX SPOT and APX, implemented a series of measures which aimed to increase volumes in its core markets, while expanding its product portfolio into new regions and product classes.
EEX Group sales revenue increased by 147 per cent to a total of EUR190.4 million. Iris Weidinger, Chief Financial Officer of EEX, says: “The full consolidation of the new companies has made a significant contribution to the increase in sales revenue – however, even without these effects, we achieved a considerable increase in revenue in 2015”. Since 1 January 2015, EPEX SPOT, Powernext and as of May 2015, APX (including Belpex) have been fully consolidated into EEX Group. After adjustment for special effects, the revenue of the group rose by 39 per cent to EUR107.4 million (2014: EUR77.1 million).
In 2015, earnings before taxes totalled EUR99.5 million. After adjustment for special effects resulting from the full consolidation, EBT rose by 56 per cent to EUR37.5 million (2014: EUR24.0 million). The special effects largely resulted from the disclosure of hidden reserves at EPEX SPOT.
In 2015, the transaction revenue on the Power Derivatives Market increased by 58 per cent to EUR60.0 million (2014: EUR38.0 million). In this context, EEX has further diversified its offering: In particular, the contribution of the Italian (EUR9.7 million, + 240 per cent) and French power markets (EUR7.3 million, + 255 per cent) increased significantly against the previous year.
Compared with 2014, transaction revenues on the Power Spot Market increased more than fivefold. As of May 2015, APX has been fully consolidated within EPEX SPOT, which has made a major contribution to the increase in transaction revenue. Additionally in 2014, this business segment only included revenue from the clearing of trades concluded on EPEX SPOT. As a result of the full consolidation of EPEX SPOT into EEX Group, revenue from trading has also been considered from 2015 onwards.
Transaction revenues in the Natural Gas business segment also increased significantly compared with the previous year. A large part thereof was as a result of the full consolidation of Powernext. However, the increased volume in the individual market areas as well as the expansion of the PEGAS platform with products for Belgium, the United Kingdom and Italy has also made a significant contribution to the increase in revenue.
The 2014 results exclusively comprise trading on the German natural gas spot and derivatives market and on the Dutch gas spot market. Since January 2015, the entire gas market activities of EEX Group have been operated by Powernext. Therefore, compared with the previous year, the natural gas revenue for 2015 includes the trading and clearing fees of the French market areas and of the Dutch gas derivatives market in addition to the new gas products.
The transaction revenue in the Environmentals business segment which essentially comprises the markets for Emission Allowances, increased by 23 per cent to EUR1.6 million (2014: EUR1.3 million). The growth on the secondary market for Emission Allowances, in particular, contributed to this. In 2015, EEX fundamentally revised its offering for this market and as a result, was able to significantly increase volumes.
The revenue from clearing cooperations of European Commodity Clearing (ECC) comprises clearing for all partner exchanges that are not fully consolidated within EEX Group. Therefore compared with the previous year, the transaction revenue from clearing for Powernext is shown in the Natural Gas segment as a result of the full consolidation.
In 2015, transaction revenue in the Global Commodities business segment, which essentially comprises the markets of Cleartrade Exchange (CLTX), increased to EUR1.2 million (2014: EUR0.8 million). In addition, EEX migrated the agricultural markets from Eurex to its platform in May 2015. In this new business segment, EEX recorded transaction revenue of EUR0.2 million.
In the Info Products business segment, the 2015 revenue totalled EUR3.7 million – compared to EUR1.5 million in 2014. At EUR41.0 million, the other revenue more than tripled (2014: EUR11.7 million). This includes annual fees, fixed fees for technical connections and market coupling. Full consolidation effects were observed in both the Info Products business segment and in other revenue.
In the current year, EEX has launched further measures aimed to strengthen its competitive position. Peter Reitz, Chief Executive Officer of EEX, explains: “In the first quarter of 2016, we achieved volume growth across all business segments compared with the previous year. This shows that we are still on the right track with our growth strategy.”
