In the past fiscal year, the focus of the treasury activities of the Energie AG Group was on ensuring solvency at all times while at the same time optimising for the greatest possible financial flexibility. The ongoing turmoil on the commodity markets, coupled with increased interest rate volatility, have led Group Treasury to increasingly focus on securing liquidity and creditworthiness in the long term. The conservative approach to Energie AG's funding and investment policy again proved its value in the 2022/2023 fiscal year.
Ensuring high financial flexibility
A mix of cash and highly liquid, extremely conservative money-market instruments is held to ensure solvency at all times. As of the reporting date, the Energie AG Group held cash and cash equivalents of EUR 230.7 million (previous year: EUR 929.4 million) as well as fixed-term deposits and short-term investments totalling EUR 258.7 million (previous year: EUR 273.5 million).
In view of the continuing high price fluctuations on the commodity markets and the associated volatile margin payments to collateralise trading transactions, Energie AG proactively expanded its credit lines with banks by a significant figure in the past fiscal year. At the end of the fiscal year, the Company had unused and readily available credit lines totalling EUR 950 million at its disposal (previous year: EUR 700.0 million).
Compared to the corresponding period in the previous year, it was again possible to reduce financial liabilities in the 2022/2023 fiscal year by EUR 22.0 million to EUR 638.5 million (previous year: 660.5 million). The Group's repayment profile is characterised by bullet bonds. For the first time, there will be a greater refinancing requirement in two years due to the maturity of the 2005-2025 bond (with a nominal value of EUR 300 million).
By proactively securing sufficient sources of funding and liquidity, the Energie AG Group is also well prepared for unexpected future crisis scenarios.
External rating of Energie AG again confirmed
The external rating of Energie AG was again confirmed in mid-March 2023 by S&P Global Ratings with an A seal of approval. The rating outlook is also assessed to be stable without change. The rating of Energie AG is very well secured due to the robust development of key figures and the financial policy, which has been stable for decades. The Group's strong credit rating supports the required transformation of the energy system with a view to achieving climate neutrality. The energy sector expects an increase in investment pressure in the context of the energy transition and efforts to safeguard security of supply.
Central financial management of the Group
The Group's internal financial management takes place centrally at the holding company level and includes both cost-optimised liquidity management of the Group companies and the long-term provision of financial resources in line with requirements and based on standard market conditions. At the end of the 2022/2023 fiscal year, 27 Group companies were integrated into the Energie AG cash pooling system.