Holding & Services Segment

Business development in the Holding & Services Segment

The Holding & Services Segment saw sales revenues increase by EUR 45.9 million to EUR 347.2 million in the 2024/25 fiscal year. This increase is mainly attributable to the growing volume of orders at Energie AG Oberösterreich Tech Services GmbH.

At EUR 5.9 million, EBIT in the Holding & Services Segment was lower compared to the same period in the previous year. This development is primarily attributable to increased personnel costs and the real estate divestments occurring in the previous year. In addition, declining shares of earnings from investments consolidated at equity in the Holding & Services Segment had a negative impact on the operating result compared to the previous year. In contrast to this, higher order levels in the service entities and lower maintenance costs had a positive impact on the operating result.

Shared services

The three Group-wide service companies

• Energie AG Oberösterreich Services und Digital Solutions GmbH (Services und Digital Solutions GmbH)
• Energie AG Oberösterreich Personalmanagement GmbH (Personalmanagement GmbH) and
• Energie AG Oberösterreich Tech Services GmbH (Tech Services GmbH)

are combined in the Holding & Services Segment.

These service companies provide commercial and technical services for the entire Group in accordance with precisely defined quality and safety standards. These services are guided by external market conditions for similar products and services.

Services und Digital Solutions GmbH bundles services for the Energie AG Group in the areas of purchasing and logistics, real estate management, information technology, accounting, legal and insurance, telecommunications and customer services, invoicing, data management, receivables management and customer payment processing.

Group-wide digitalisation was consistently pursued throughout the reporting period. The introduction of a state-of-the-art, integrated employee experience platform was completed on schedule. In addition, the potential for automation and digitalisation of frequently executed processes and workflows was evaluated. A new customer service solution was also introduced, making customer contact more efficient. AI can now handle requests faster and more individually, thereby increasing customer satisfaction in a sustainable way. In IT service management, all IT resources have been fully integrated into a configuration management database and integrated into comprehensive monitoring along the entire process chain with a view to further enhancing transparency and operational security. In the 2024/25 fiscal year, customer processes were also continuously evaluated and developed on an on-going basis in the scope of the digitalisation strategy. Preparations were also made to address potential ElWG requirements, such as an increase in digitalisation in customer communications, process adaptations in monthly billing and accelerated reporting times for consumption data. The ‘Information Lifecycle Management’ project for data protection-compliant archiving and deletion of personal data in accordance with the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation was successfully completed during the reporting period.

In the scope of constructing a future-oriented apprentice campus, the intent is a new-build or extension of the apprentice residences and to generally renovate of the existing training workshop at the Gmunden site. Starting in early September 2025, the overhead cable teaching campus, the substitute facilities for apprentice residences and the training workshop in Gmunden were handed over to the apprenticeship team. The general contract award process for the planned apprentice campus new build and general renovation of the training workshop has been successfully concluded.

Services und Digital Solutions GmbH is also assigned to the telecommunication business area due to synergy opportunities in IT. The volume of transported internet data in the 2024/25 fiscal year was 181,270 terabytes (TB), which is up by 16.2% on the previous year's figure of 156,027 TB. The increase further highlights the growing need for broader bandwidths across the market. As a result, steady, continuous growth in sales of standard products to external customers was recorded in the form of both new orders and upgrades. Data transmission reliability was maintained at an excellent level with a security of supply (= data connection availability) of 99.98% (previous year: 99.99%). The fibre-optic network is being continuously developed and optimised to ensure a consistently high level of supply security. As part of the strategic further development of telecommunications infrastructure, the construction of a disaster resilient network in the Upper Austrian region was implemented during the reporting period to ensure high availability and crisis-proof data communication, especially in the event of a large-scale power outage. In addition, an OTN (Optical Transport Network) connection to the internet node in Vienna was established.

The focus of Personalmanagement GmbH's activities is both on matters related to personnel strategy and personnel policy for the Group, governed by the Holding division ‘HR Strategy and Control’, and on all agendas relating to personnel and management development, personnel support, personnel accounting and apprenticeship programs. In order to promote interest for technical professions among Energie AG employees' daughters, the ‘GreenTechGirls’ Action Days, with a focus on age-appropriate and multi-faceted experiencing of renewable energies, were launched and initial events organised in the 2024/25 fiscal year. In addition to this, two female engineering students were selected for a scholarship. Due to positive experience from past fiscal years, a new HTL training program was also launched during the reporting period. In order to prepare all employees at the Group for digitalisation in the best possible way, a ‘digital fitness quiz’ was carried out in which all employees with IT access were given an individual evaluation of their digital skills. Building on this, a broad choice of digital training offerings has enabled employees to take part in targeted on-going training. In two major IT sub-projects, the human resources processes were merged on a cloud-based platform, promoting digitalisation in human resources. The continuation of numerous Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, as well as the newly created Equal Opportunities Network, helped Energie AG to secure the ‘equalitA Award’ and the ’equalitA seal of approval’ for promoting of women within the enterprise.

As the provider of technical services at Energie AG, Tech Services GmbH continues to be the central owner of know-how in the Group. The service portfolio includes the design, project planning, construction and maintenance of electricity, gas and telecommunications infrastructures, and power plants. The specific focus is on installations in the hydroelectric power, heat, PV, biogas and wind power sectors. In the 2024/25 fiscal year, the focus was particularly on resource usage (circular economy), increased efficiency, adapting capacities in system and network construction, diversification and digitalisation. Significant progress has been made in the standardisation of processes, the introduction of new digital tools and other topics.

The Ebensee pumped-storage power plant developed into a flagship project in the year under review. In addition to project management, Tech Services GmbH also handled the coordination of additional technical units and ensured significant progress in the construction work. It is also important to highlight the start of construction work on the replacement for the Traunfall power plant, where Tech Services GmbH was also entrusted with project management.

Challenges arose in the 2024/25 fiscal year, in particular due to lengthy administrative approval procedures, volatile order books due to economic developments in the served electricity grid areas, the availability of skilled staff and weather-related incidents. Thanks to the decentralised structure and the consistent development of project and resource planning, these burdens were successfully cushioned.

Due to the continued expansion of grid and generation infrastructure and age-related fluctuation, a significantly higher need for recruitment is expected in the coming years. In order to ensure efficiency, quality and innovative power, Tech Services GmbH relies on targeted actions for the recruitment, retention and development of employees, all of this supported by digitalisation and continuous evaluation.

Strategic investments

The companies Wels Strom GmbH, Salzburg AG für Energie, Verkehr und Telekommunikation (Salzburg AG) and BBOÖ Breitband Oberösterreich GmbH (BBOÖ GmbH), consolidated at equity, and other shareholdings, complement the business portfolio of Energie AG.

Wels Strom GmbH, in which Energie AG holds a 49% interest, is the integrated electricity supply company of the city of Wels. Other business areas include services relating to electromobility and energy systems for key account customers.

In the 2024 fiscal year (1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024), rapid and optimised electricity management, while reassessing the risks of volume deviations in collaboration with industrial and commercial customers, presented a business challenge. Moreover, the highly volatile water levels during the year posed an economic risk.

In the 2024 fiscal year, proprietary electricity generation decreased by 2.8% year-on-year to around 96 GWh. Similarly, the production volume varied widely in the individual months. All told, the self-generation ratio in the 2024 fiscal year was 13.7% of electricity sales to customers of Wels Strom GmbH (previous year: 15.0%).

The electricity volume delivered to its customers by Wels Strom GmbH increased year-on-year from 661 GWh to 703 GWh. This growth is attributable to an increase in new customers, volume growth with existing business customers and growth in the ‘Voltino’ and tariff customer segments.

The completion of the ‘Future Initiative’ project concluded the reorganisation of Wels Strom GmbH. The workforce grew from 31 to 33 on an annual basis. Parallel to this, Wels Strom GmbH is undergoing fundamental further development in the scope of a strategy process.

Salzburg AG, in which Energie AG has a 26.13% stakeholding, implemented the reformulated strategy in the 2024 fiscal year. Building on the six ambitions, ‘Champion’´, ‘Decarboniser‘, ‘Innovator’, ‘Team player’, ‘Customer Hero’ and ‘Value Winner’, at the heart of the strategic orientation, appropriate implementation actions were derived. For example, the ‘Decarboniser’ ambition seeks to increase the share of electricity generated from renewable sources to 2 TWh per year by 2040, and also to anchor climate-neutrality and sustainability for activities and reduce CO₂ emissions from all activities by 50.0% as early as 2030. Adjustments to the corporate structure have been made to allow for the targeted implementation of the strategy.

The Salzburg AG Group's total electricity use decreased to 11,915 GWh in the 2024 fiscal year (previous year: 12,089 GWh). Sales to end users fell to 3,648 GWh (previous year: 3,730 GWh). The trading volume, which includes marketing Group production and external volumes, plus trading for third parties, fell from 8,177 GWh in the same period of the previous year to 8,049 GWh in the 2024 fiscal year.

Electricity generated by hydropower plants, including the Danube holdings, increased by 9.8% year-on-year in the 2024 fiscal year totalling 1,555 GWh (previous year: 1,416 GWh).

In the 2024 fiscal year, the construction of the Stegenwald power plant, a joint project with Verbund AG, was pushed forward. Planning work for the Golling power plant - also a joint project with Verbund AG - is also in progress. Documents for the EIA will be submitted in autumn 2025. In the 2024 fiscal year, construction work at the Sulzau hydropower plant continued under the auspices of 72.5% subsidiary KW Sulzau GmbH.

Electricity generated from thermal production was about 4.6% lower than the previous year's figure at 255.3 GWh. Generation by PV systems was 7.9 GWh, 2.4% higher than the previous year's value. In the 2024 fiscal year, ‘Sonnen.Park Eugendorf’ was successfully opened. It is Salzburg's largest agricultural open-air PV facility covering 60,000 m². Some 2.6 GWh of solar power are generated annually. Salzburg AG also deals with wind power projects. Preparations for the wind power project in Windsfeld im Pongau and Lehmberg im Flachgau are the most advanced.

Overall sales of natural gas also decreased in the 2024 fiscal year. Including in-house use for on-site heating plants, electricity sales totalled 11,721 GWh in the 2024 fiscal year, which is 22.6% below the previous year's figure of 15,138 GWh. This decrease is mainly attributable to the energy trading sector. Trading figures were 8,746 GWh (previous year: 12,150 GWh). Sales to end users totalled 2,072 GWh (previous year: 2,023 GWh). Total in-Group use also decreased by 6.4%.

The Smart Metering project was concluded in the 2024 fiscal year. At the end of 2024, the rollout rate was 99.7%, exceeding the legal requirement of 95.0%.

At 874 GWh, total district heating sales was 0.4% below the previous year's level. Work is pushing forward on further decarbonisation of the district heating supply, in particular through the use of industrial waste heat.

The telecommunications business unit has seen constant growth for years; this is also the case in the 2024 fiscal year. It again proved possible to grow the customer base, especially in internet services.

The fiscal year 2024 of the Transport business unit was marked by restructuring following the transfer to the new entity, Salzburg Linien Verkehrsbetriebe GmbH, in 2023. This process is continuing and will include further strategy development. The strategy development process is taking place in close coordination with the transport advisory board and will be comprehensively supported by experts from the ‘Corporate Strategy’ department of Salzburg AG. Additionally, external consultants were tasked with carrying out a study on the future drivetrain technologies. The results will be integrated into the strategy process.

Additions to non-current assets totalled EUR 290.2 million (previous year: EUR 285.3 million). Of the total additions, EUR 268.4 million were for property, plant and equipment. This includes investments in generation plants in the amount of EUR 33.4 million. A total of EUR 98.5 million was invested in property, plant and equipment for the electricity grid; the corresponding figure in the telecommunications business unit was EUR 30.9 million for property, plant and equipment. EUR 32.6 million were invested in property, plant and equipment with regard to transport. The remainder is attributable to investments in other business units and financial assets.

BBOÖ GmbH is a company founded in 2022 by the Province of Upper Austria and Energie AG Oberösterreich; a 50% share is indirectly owned by the Province of Upper Austria via OÖ Landesholding GmbH, while Energie AG Oberösterreich holds a further 50%.

The entity's aim is the rapid expansion of the fibre optic infrastructure in the Province of Upper Austria and providing access to the fastest transmission bandwidths at equal and fair conditions. The intent is to set up a non-discriminatory fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) network independently of internet service providers in accordance with uniform standards as notified by the European Commission.

The task of BBOÖ Breitband Oberösterreich GmbH includes planning and implementing the FTTH fibre optic infrastructure and operations on this network. It acts independently of the individual interests of the providers, in the interest of the general public and in the sense of a nationwide supply mandate. The aim is to implement an Upper Austria model which will make the fibre optic infrastructure accessible to as many different internet service providers as possible.

In the 2024 fiscal year, the company was able to (partly) commission further networks, giving end users in more than 300 communities the opportunity to access broadband services offered by various internet service providers. BBOÖ GmbH actively manages network operations in the majority of these areas.