Npower doubles Eon’s UK sales, 5,000 job cuts loom, b2b sale undecided

0

Eon doubled UK energy sales in the first half of the year despite the impact of Covid-19, thanks to the inclusion of innogy operations, namely Npower.

However, the bulk of job cuts are yet to come, with some 5,000 at risk within Npower’s B2C division, according to CFO, Marc Spieker.

UK sales increased from €3.757bn to €7.356bn (£3.4bn to £6.65bn).

“The turnaround [in the UK] is not due to the market environment but to the measures we took,” said Spieker. “As we have previously communicated, the B2C business of Npower will be transferred to a new platform and Npower will be completely dismantled in this area … which concerns employees totalling 5,000.”

Reduction of marketing and acquisition costs is already delivering “substantial economic improvements before the personnel reduction,” added Spieker. “We expect in subsequent years the result in the UK to be improved.”

Despite the migration, “customer numbers have remained stable,” said Spieker.

While Npower helped drive sales, the unit’s additional costs contributed to a fall in profit from €76m to €43m (£68.7m to £38.9m).

Meanwhile, the firm is as yet undecided on the long-term future of its combined business-to-business energy division.

In a direct reversal of the B2C business, Spieker said that the B2B units would migrate to Npower’s platform, “where the business is better integrated”.

Asked if Eon would ultimately sell or keep the combined business-to-business operation, Spieker gave little away.

“What we are going to do with the integrated business, we have not yet decided. We are first going to do the integration of the two businesses,” he said, where there will be “substantial synergies.”

Listen to the presentation and press conference here.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here