RWE Raises 2026 and 2027 Guidance as Amprion Grid Stake Boosts Earnings
Essen – Energy group RWE has raised its earnings guidance for the 2026 and 2027 financial years following a stronger-than-expected first half. Alongside improved operating performance, the upgrade is driven mainly by additional earnings contributions from the increased stake in transmission grid operator Amprion, a compensation payment from the Dutch state, and higher income from international power generation.
Grid Business: Amprion Becomes a Key Earnings Driver
For the current financial year, RWE now expects adjusted EBITDA of between EUR 5.75 billion and EUR 6.35 billion. Adjusted net income is projected to rise to between EUR 1.95 billion and EUR 2.45 billion, with adjusted net income per share of EUR 2.60 to EUR 3.30.
RWE has also raised its outlook for 2027. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to reach EUR 6.7 billion to EUR 7.3 billion, with adjusted net income of EUR 2.2 billion to EUR 2.7 billion. Adjusted net income per share is forecast at EUR 2.80 to EUR 3.50.
A key driver of the higher guidance is the increase in RWE's economic stake in transmission grid operator Amprion to 55 percent. Starting in the 2027 financial year, earnings contributions from the stake will be reported for the first time under a new "Regulated Grid Infrastructure" segment. When the transaction was announced in June, RWE had already raised its long-term 2031 target for adjusted net income per share from EUR 4.40 to EUR 4.55. The group also confirmed its dividend target of EUR 1.32 per share for the 2026 financial year and reaffirmed its goal of increasing the dividend by 10 percent annually through 2031.
Strong First Half of 2026 on Wind Business and One-Off Effects
According to preliminary figures, RWE generated adjusted EBITDA of EUR 3.0 billion in the first half of 2026 (H1 2025: EUR 2.1 billion). Adjusted net income came to EUR 1.3 billion (H1 2025: EUR 0.8 billion), or EUR 1.77 per share (H1 2025: EUR 1.08), exceeding capital market expectations.
In the Offshore Wind segment, RWE benefited from significantly better wind conditions than in the weak wind period of the prior year. Adjusted EBITDA rose to EUR 810 million (H1 2025: EUR 643 million). RWE accordingly raised its full-year guidance for the segment by EUR 100 million to a range of EUR 1,650 million to EUR 2,150 million.
The Onshore Wind/Solar segment also grew, to EUR 1,016 million (H1 2025: EUR 830 million), supported by continued capacity expansion and more favorable wind conditions in Europe. The group confirmed its full-year guidance for the segment.
The Flexible Generation segment increased adjusted EBITDA to EUR 1,025 million (H1 2025: EUR 606 million). This figure includes a EUR 332 million compensation payment from the Dutch state, related to statutory production restrictions imposed on the Eemshaven coal-fired power plant in the first half of 2022, for which RWE is now being compensated following state-aid clearance from the European Commission. RWE raised the segment's guidance range accordingly, to EUR 1,500 million to EUR 1,900 million.
In Energy Trading, adjusted EBITDA improved to EUR 134 million (H1 2025: EUR 16 million) following stronger trading performance in the second quarter. The full-year guidance range of EUR 100 million to EUR 500 million remains unchanged.
State-Regulated Grid Infrastructure Gains Importance
With its majority stake in Amprion, RWE is strengthening a business segment with particularly predictable earnings. Transmission grids are considered natural monopolies: since building multiple parallel high-voltage grids would make no economic sense, each grid area has only one operator. Unlike power generators, transmission grid operators therefore do not compete for customers or market share. Their revenues are set within a state regulatory framework and are consequently far more predictable than generation earnings, which depend on power prices, weather conditions, and fuel costs.
Against the backdrop of the multi-billion-euro grid expansion required for the energy transition, stakes in transmission grid operators are becoming increasingly strategically important for energy companies. They complement the weather- and market-dependent generation business with long-term, stable infrastructure earnings, increasing the predictability of overall company performance.
Source: IWR Online, Jul 07 2026