Acquisitions and power prices helped E.ON 2008 adjusted net earnings

Germany’s largest utility, E.ON (18,66 EUR, -7,72%),  said as quoted by Bloomberg that its full-year earnings before writedowns jumped 9 percent after it boosted its generation capacity abroad and energy prices rose.

Adjusted net income, which E.ON uses to calculate its dividend, climbed to 5.6 billion euros ($7.11 billion) from 5.12 billion euros a year earlier, the company said today in a statement.

According to a statement from E.ON yesterday this profit, which excludes writedowns on assets and hedging derivatives, should fall by about 10 percent this year.

The company boosted its generation capacity by about 20 percent after buying plants in France, Italy and Spain in June. Power prices in Germany, its primary market, advanced to records in mid-2008, only to drop in the last quarter as a recession cut demand.

E.ON said last month that it would seek to slash costs by 1.5 billion euros through 2011 by reducing procurement and administration expenses. Job losses can’t be ruled out as part of the measures, the company said.

Profit for 2008 may be hurt by 3.3 billion euros of writedowns related to operations in the U.S. and Italy, E.ON management said the same day.

E.ON, which operates in Kentucky, Virginia and Tennessee, said results at the U.S. unit would reflect economic “deterioration,” while regulatory intervention and a higher corporate tax rate had affected operations in Italy.

(Source: Bloomberg)