E.On sees growth despite recent UK decline

Europe's largest energy firm, E.On, has reported an 18 percent increase in quarterly profits thanks to a revenue growth in Italy and Spain, offsetting a recent decline in the UK. ┬á E.OnÔÇÖs net profit of 2.5 billion euros in January to March is up from 2.1 billion euros last year. ┬á The German firm said that the recession had hit UK electricity usage, with sales falling 8 percent compared to the same period last year, but revenue was still boosted by the opening of new power stations in Italy and Spain. ┬á It said that while "the economic downturn had an adverse impact" on its electricity business across Western Europe, this was "particularly" the case in the UK as firms used less power. ┬á E.On's sales of both electricity and gas rose 14 percent to 26 billion euros in the January to March period, but results fell short of market expectations. ┬á The firm said it was now continuing talks to buy a 25 percent stake in a Russian gas field from Russia's state-owned Gazprom, and although it was difficult to make predictions in the current economic climate, the firm hopes its full-year profits for 2009 will be ahead of 2008.