ESB profits surge to €847m following price hikes

ESB, which is owned by the State, reported a €202m drop in operating profit to €207m.

Ireland’s leading electricity and gas provider ESB posted soaring profits of €847m last year amid the ongoing energy crisis.

In its annual results, profits for Ireland's largest electricity provider rose sharply by €168m last year following price hikes by its Electric Ireland business due to higher wholesale prices.

“2022 has been an extraordinary year in global energy markets with volatile and high wholesale prices leading to exceptionally high profits from ESB’s generation businesses in Ireland and Great Britain,” said Paul Stapleton, ESB CFO.

Last summer, Electric Ireland first announced plans to increase residential electricity bills by 10.9% and gas bills by 29.2%.

ESB, which is owned by the State, reported a €202m drop in operating profit to €207m, driven by a decrease in revenue from regulated tariffs, higher operating costs and higher depreciation costs due to an increase in its asset base.

ESB customer solutions department, including Electric Ireland, also reported an operating loss of €109m. The company said its financial performance in the Republic and Northern Ireland was down on previous years due to the €50 winter credit given to which eliminated any profit on residential electricity sales.

ESB recommended a one-off enhanced dividend of €327m, up from €126m in 2021, bringing dividends to almost €1.5bn over the last 10 years.

ESB holds a 30% share of generation in the all-island Ireland market and supplies businesses supplying electricity and gas to over 2m customer accounts across Ireland and the UK.

ESB Group employs an average of over 8,000 people.