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DELTA’s core activities are performing well; negative result due to solar

Key figures

Turnover rose to €2.1 billion (+10%)

Good net results from the core activities (network management, energy and waste processing) of €87 million

Net result of discontinued operations: -/-  €265 million

Gives an overall negative net result of €178 million

Slimmed-down operations thanks to cost management, efficiency improvements and strict staffing policy

Solvency increased slightly to a level of 42.2%

Financial highlights

	2010	2009	%
Turnover (€ million)	2,073	1,869	10%
Normalised gross margin (€ million)	660	596	11%
Normalised depreciation (€ million)	125	112	11%
Normalised EBITDA, including results of participating interests (€ million)	269	248	8%
Net result (in accordance with annual account/€ million)	(178)	7
Normalised net result (€ million)	94	81	17%
FTE (at year end)	3,197	3,285	-3%
Investments (€ million)	141	125	30%
Net debt (at year end/€ million)	498	497

 

DELTA realised a turnover of €2.1 billion in 2010, an increase of 10% compared with the previous year. In the business energy market, the amount of electricity supplied increased by almost 28%, which includes the effect of the Sloe power plant coming on line. Gas volumes supplied also showed an increase (+23%). All the activities of DELTA Milieu were included within its subsidiary Indaver in 2010. Following on from this, Indaver has now been converted into a country-based organisation, focusing on north-western Europe. Waste processing provided a good result; the quantities processed were greater, rising from 3.9 to 4.3 million tons. The increase comes from more waste being produced by existing clients and through additional acquisition.

Because of the economic crisis and strong competition from Asia, manufacturing solar cells turned out no longer to be profitable. Writing off these activities involves a total sum of €260 million. Whether it will be possible to sell off these activities should become clear before the middle of 2011.

Peter Boerma, the CEO, says "It is important to emphasise that our core activities performed well in 2010, in spite of the poor economic climate. The energy segment performed well, helped by the commissioning of the Sloe power station. The regulated business units also showed positive developments. The waste processing segment managed to combine a successful integration of all its business activities with some excellent results. The overall loss is disappointing, but is in line with earlier profit warnings."

Operating expenses
There has only been a limited increase in net operating expenses, thanks to cost management and efficiency improvements. There are additional costs related to a split in the IT systems though, as a result of DELTA being positioned independently as a grid manager. The number of employees has decreased by 88 FTE thanks to a strict policy on taking on new staff. Staff costs therefore decreased slightly. Adjusted for one-off costs and write-downs, net operating expenses were almost the same as in 2010.

Looking to the future
The efficiency improvements that were realised in the past year have also created a better starting position for the company in 2011. It will continue to work on a more effective organisational structure and on cost management. These economies are necessary because the margins will be under pressure in the years to come as a result of lower energy prices and higher fuel prices. Disregarding any changes in the value of business portfolio, it is expected that in 2011 DELTA will realise an operational result from normal business operations that will be in line with the 2010 results.

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