Results of the 20/21 financial year
Axpo achieves good results and strengthens its position for the future
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Total revenue
Adjusted EBIT
Free Cash Flow
No. of employees
Axpo has continued to grow internationally over the past financial year. The company now has a presence in 32 countries. Of its 5,338 employees, 1,311 work outside Switzerland, around 200 more than in the previous year.
Internationally, Axpo delivers more than 19,000 MW of renewable energy to the market, around 3,000 MW more than the previous year.
The Axpo subsidiaries Urbasolar and Volkswind have continued their growth in Europe and in other countries.
International PV: 10 GW; 20 times more than today
International onshore wind: 10 times more than today
PPA: quadruple the volume of new power purchase agreements
PV in Switzerland: 200 MW – around 10,000 new PV facilities
Axpo is also performing well in trade and customer business. In particular, the demand for long-term supply and purchase agreements for renewable energies (PPA) continued unabated in the 20/21 financial year. Three examples of these innovative and tailored energy solutions:
Origination means, in simplified terms, bringing major consumers together with energy producers and traders. Axpo’s customer proximity and expertise ensure that this is an area of sustained growth for the company. Whether it concerns structured energy products, access to trading platforms, marketing or power plant optimisation – tailored customer solutions are always the main focus.
Over the last few years, we have achieved average annual growth of 19 percent (CAGR) in the origination business.
As the largest producer of renewable energies, Axpo plays an important role in making the energy transition happen. We are confident that the energy transition can succeed – and with the same high security of supply – provided that the framework conditions are brought into line. What is required, for example, are faster approval procedures and in general a balance between economic viability and environmental regulations. Anyone who would like to get an overview of the future of the Swiss electricity supply can play around with the ‘Power Switcher’ interactive online tool to find out more.
To ensure that the energy transition is successful, investments also need to be made in new and existing facilities.
Axpo invests billions of francs in Switzerland each year – around three times more than abroad. Since 2013, billions of francs have flowed into safety and the possible long-term operation of nuclear power plants, into maintaining hydropower plants and into transmission grids. All to encourage an environmentally friendly and secure electricity supply in Switzerland.
Photovoltaics plays a pivotal role in the energy transition – especially when a large proportion of electricity can be generated in winter. This is precisely the case at AlpinSolar, Axpo’s pioneering project in the Swiss Alps. The crucial importance of expanding PV is demonstrated via many other projects, such as in Leuk where dish antennae are to be lined with PV panels. Axpo subsidiary CKW also registers strong growth with PV facilities on rooftops and larger buildings.
Axpo is investing in future technologies such as hydrogen and batteries. The aim is to use Swiss hydropower plants to produce green hydrogen, for example, in Eglisau or Brugg.
In terms of batteries, Axpo delivers around 100 MW of storage capacity to the European market. In Switzerland, Axpo has installed a battery storage system with 6.25 MW in Rathausen, the only one of its kind in the country. It has also taken on the management and commercial exploitation of a newly built battery storage system from Rhiienergie in Domat/Ems with a capacity of 1.25 MW.
The 20/21 financial year has shown that Axpo is delivering a solid operational performance. The company should benefit from higher electricity prices in the next financial year (see chart on the left, majority of production in the coming year already hedged). On the other hand, the prolonged overhaul of the Leibstadt nuclear power plant will have a negative effect. For this reason, Axpo expects a similarly high result overall as in the previous year.
Axpo’s objective is to be a digital leader in Europe’s energy sector. This is why Axpo is creating the conditions to use digital tools to secure the operational processes of supplying energy, set the highest standards for operating power plants and digitalise the data platform in energy trading. This also includes bringing the company further on in terms of its culture. Core to this are both a simplified organisational structure and the ability to create cross-departmental synergies.