ESSEN, Germany — November 11, 2026: German energy group RWE reported a 35 per cent increase in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the first nine months of 2026, but its statutory result attributable to shareholders swung to a €150 million loss after large valuation effects on financial derivatives. The contrasting figures highlight both the strength of the company’s operating business and the accounting volatility created by energy-price hedging.

RWE, Germany’s largest power producer, said adjusted EBITDA reached €4.575 billion between January and September, compared with €3.398 billion in the same period of 2025. Adjusted net income increased to €1.846 billion from €1.293 billion, while adjusted earnings per share rose to €2.52 from €1.77. The company said the results put it at about 85 per cent of its full-year adjusted earnings-per-share target after nine months.

The adjusted EBITDA figure also exceeded the average analyst estimate of €4.43 billion cited by Reuters. RWE reaffirmed its 2026 forecast of €5.75 billion to €6.35 billion in adjusted EBITDA and €1.95 billion to €2.45 billion in adjusted net income. Management said it now expects results towards the upper end of those ranges, citing strong trading performance in the second and third quarters.

Why the Strong Operating Result Came With a Statutory Loss

The headline adjusted figures do not tell the whole story. RWE’s interim statement shows that net income attributable to RWE AG shareholders was negative €150 million for the first three quarters, compared with a profit of €2.3 billion in the same period a year earlier. The company’s non-operating result moved from a positive €928 million to a negative €2.546 billion.

RWE attributed the deterioration largely to temporary valuation effects on derivatives used to hedge energy-price risks. The interim report records a negative €3.353 billion impact from derivative valuations, compared with a positive €934 million effect in the prior-year period. Under the accounting rules described by the company, hedging instruments are measured at fair value on the reporting date, while the underlying energy transactions may only affect income when they are completed. That timing difference can create large interim accounting swings even when the hedges are designed to offset commercial price risks over time.

RWE says these valuation effects can offset one another over time and are therefore included in its non-operating result rather than its adjusted operating performance. The distinction is important for investors: adjusted EBITDA is intended to show the performance of the underlying business, while the statutory result reflects the full accounting impact recorded during the reporting period. Neither figure should be read in isolation.

RWE Ibbenbüren coal-fired power station in Germany, photographed in June 2010.
RWE’s Ibbenbüren power station, photographed in June 2010. Photo: J.-H. Janßen. Original photograph | CC0 1.0. This is a historical image, not a representation of the plant’s current operating status.

Wind Conditions and Trading Helped Lift Earnings

RWE identified stronger wind conditions in Europe, newly commissioned assets and improved Supply & Trading performance among the main drivers of its operating improvement. Adjusted EBITDA in the Offshore Wind segment rose to €1.110 billion from €915 million, while Onshore Wind and Solar increased to €1.497 billion from €1.242 billion. The company said additional generation capacity and better wind conditions supported both segments, although lower margins on forward electricity sales partly offset the offshore gains.

Supply & Trading recorded one of the sharpest improvements, with adjusted EBITDA rising to €543 million from €150 million. RWE said proprietary trading recovered strongly after a weak start to the year. Flexible Generation, which includes gas-fired and other dispatchable power assets, produced adjusted EBITDA of €1.343 billion, up from €1.076 billion. That segment also benefited from higher margins, UK capacity payments and a compensation payment from the Dutch state connected to statutory restrictions on coal-fired generation at the Eemshaven plant in 2022.

A group of wind turbines operating across a rural landscape in Germany.
Wind turbines in rural Germany. Photo: Tony Webster. Original photograph | CC BY-SA 3.0.

The company generated 89.9 terawatt-hours of electricity in the first nine months, about 2 per cent more than a year earlier. RWE’s interim statement says 46 per cent of its generation came from renewables, 25 per cent from gas and 27 per cent from coal, with the remainder from other sources. It also reported that emissions from power generation fell by 3 per cent to 36.3 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide.

Investment Rises as RWE Expands Renewables and Grid Assets

RWE invested €10.726 billion net during the first three quarters, more than double the €4.635 billion recorded in the comparable period of 2025. Gross capital expenditure reached €13.261 billion. The company said much of its spending went into offshore wind farms, onshore wind and solar projects, battery storage and its increased stake in Amprion, a major German electricity transmission operator.

Net debt stood at €17.027 billion on September 30, compared with €10.921 billion at the end of 2025. RWE expects net debt to fall to about €12 billion by the end of 2026, largely because the company has transferred a 50 per cent stake in its Vanguard West and Vanguard East offshore wind project companies to U.S. investment firm KKR. The two British projects have a combined planned capacity of 2.8 gigawatts, and RWE and KKR have completed the joint venture’s financial close.

The investment programme illustrates the scale of capital required to expand renewable generation and reinforce electricity networks. RWE says 92 per cent of the relevant expenditure it assessed under the EU Taxonomy met the regulation’s alignment criteria. The company’s interim report also details a planned 400-megawatt battery storage facility in the Netherlands, which is intended to help manage grid bottlenecks and align electricity supply with demand when wind generation fluctuates.

New Gas Plants Show the Balancing Challenge

RWE’s transition strategy is not limited to renewables. The company also secured contracts for three new combined-cycle gas power stations in Germany, at Weisweiler, Werne and Voerde, with a combined installed capacity of about 2.49 gigawatts. According to the interim statement, the projects won capacity payments under Germany’s first capacity-market auction, with a 15-year delivery period beginning on November 1, 2031. RWE said it intends to start building the first station in the coming weeks.

The projects reflect the challenge of maintaining reliable electricity supplies while wind and solar capacity grows. Gas plants can provide dispatchable generation when renewable output is low, but they also create a risk of locking in fossil-fuel infrastructure and future emissions unless they are operated less frequently or converted to lower-carbon fuels. RWE describes the plants as hydrogen-compatible, but their eventual climate impact will depend on actual fuel use, efficiency, operating hours and the availability of affordable low-carbon hydrogen.

For 2026, RWE reaffirmed its dividend target of €1.32 per share and said it aims to increase the dividend by 10 per cent annually through 2031. That is a company target rather than a guaranteed future payment, and its delivery will depend on earnings, cash flow, investment requirements and financing conditions.

HeadlinesXtra Analysis

RWE’s nine-month update is a reminder that strong operating earnings and a statutory loss can occur in the same reporting period. The 35 per cent increase in adjusted EBITDA points to a stronger underlying business, supported by wind generation, new capacity and a sharp recovery in energy trading. But the €150 million loss attributable to shareholders is also real in the published accounts and should not be dismissed. The large derivative valuation adjustment explains much of the gap, yet investors still need to understand how those hedges affect reported volatility and the timing of future earnings.

The quality of the earnings improvement also deserves scrutiny. More favourable wind conditions and new generation assets helped, but weather-related gains can fluctuate, while trading performance is difficult to extrapolate indefinitely. The increase in net debt and the scale of investment show that RWE is committing substantial capital to future growth. The company’s expected year-end debt reduction depends partly on the structure and accounting treatment of its KKR partnership, not simply on cash generated by operations.

RWE’s power mix reveals the tension at the heart of Europe’s energy transition. Renewables supplied the largest share of its electricity generation, and the company reported lower carbon emissions, but coal and gas still accounted for more than half of output. The decision to build new gas plants may help stabilise supply as intermittent renewables expand, yet it also raises questions about long-term fossil-fuel dependence and the credibility of climate targets.

The most important measure of RWE’s progress will therefore be whether it can convert its investment programme into dependable, affordable low-carbon electricity while reducing the role of coal and limiting the future use of gas. Its latest results show financial momentum in the adjusted operating business, but the reported loss, rising debt and continued investment in gas infrastructure make the full picture more complex than the headline earnings growth suggests.

Sources and Further Reading