Corporate news: results for quarters 1–3/2026

Results for quarters 1–3/2026 impacted by historically low water supply and lower sales prices

VERBUND’s earnings performance was significantly impacted in quarters 1–3/2026 by the historically low water supply and declining sales prices achieved for the Group’s own generation from hydropower. EBITDA dropped by 29.0% year-on-year to €1,498.5m and the Group result fell by 43.5% to €684.8m. After adjustment for non-recurring effects, the Group result was €725.0m, a decrease of 37.3% on the prior-year figure. Higher earnings contributions from the Sales segment and All other segments offset these negative effects to some extent.

Hydropower generation down 20.2% year-on-year

At 0.61, the hydro coefficient for the run-of-river power plants was 18 percentage points below the level recorded in the previous year (0.79) and 39 percentage points lower than the long-term average. Generation from the annual storage power plants declined by 10.6% compared with the prior-year reporting period. Total electricity generation from hydropower plants fell by 4,047 GWh, or 20.2%, to 15,984 GWh.

By contrast, generation from wind power and photovoltaic installations rose by 70 GWh to 1,622 GWh due to new facilities being put into initial operation. This increase was achieved in spite of generation conditions falling short of targets: the generation coefficient for wind and photovoltaic power stood at 0.80, 20 percentage points below the planned value and 1 percentage point lower than the prior-year figure of 0.81. As generation from thermal energy remained virtually unchanged, VERBUND’s total own generation was therefore down 17.6% on the previous year.

Sharp drop in sales price achieved for hydropower

In addition to lower generation, earnings were further impacted by the lower average sales price achieved for own generation from hydropower, which fell by €33.8/MWh year-on-year to €79.7/MWh.

There are two factors behind this decline. In quarters 1–3/2025, VERBUND had benefited in particular from premature “limit” sales effected in 2023 at high wholesale prices. In the current reporting period, however, extensive buybacks to cover electricity volumes that had already been sold but not generated due to the low water supply reduced the sales price achieved. These buybacks had to be made at much higher spot market prices.

Mixed performance of segment contributions

In the Hydro segment, lower generation and the lower sales prices achieved led to a significant drop in earnings. The earnings contribution from the New renewables segment also fell short of the prior-year level due to weaker sales prices, despite larger volumes of electricity being generated in this segment. The earnings contribution of the Grid segment registered a slight decline.

This stands in contrast to the Sales segment and All other segments, which recorded much higher earnings contributions. In the Sales segment, earnings were bolstered in particular by higher contributions from the end-customer business and positive measurement effects, while All other segments benefited from growth in the thermal business resulting from high spreads, especially at the beginning of the year.

The contribution from flexibility products was up 3.1% to €241.0m in quarters 1–3/2026.

Earnings forecast for 2026 adjusted

VERBUND has specified its guidance for financial year 2026, and based on the current opportunities and risks identified, expects EBITDA of around €2,120m, a reported Group result of around €1,010m and an adjusted Group result of around €1,050m. These projections supersede the previously published forecast ranges.

The updated forecast takes account of below-average water supply in October 2026. For November and December 2026, the guidance assumes average own generation from hydropower, wind power and photovoltaics.

VERBUND’s planned payout ratio for financial year 2026 is between 45% and 55% of the Group result, after adjusting for non-recurring effects.