2022
I think we did really well this year, in particular regarding the energy crisis, which we managed to handle with a very stringent risk management.
Claude Seywert
CEO Encevo S.A.
Chairman of the Executive Committee
Energy efficiency is an important pillar of the energy transition, and in 2021, Enovos together with its clients and partners, reached a new record of energy savings.
Claude Seywert
CEO Encevo S.A.
Chairman of the Executive Committee
The challenge we are all facing as a society, is the climate challenge and therefore, obviously, in the energy world, it’s all about energy transition.
Claude Seywert
CEO Encevo S.A.
Chairman of the Executive Committee
« I am confident that 2022 will be an-other year of important milestones for the Encevo Group. »
Marco Hoffmann
Chairman of the Board of Directors
In 2021, the Encevo Group was once again able to live up to its vision of being a leading sustainable energy player in the Greater Region. We continued to ensure secure access to and competitive supplies of energy while actively shaping the transition to a sustainable energy sector by embracing technology, deploying innovative solutions and partnering with local communities.
The energy world has changed dramatically in recent years, and so too has the Encevo Group, which is now centred around three pillars of activity. While the newest, technical services, was introduced just a few years ago, all three pillars help us achieve our goal of a sustainable energy transition.
In everything we do, we stay focused on ensuring secure supplies of energy to our customers. Continued high levels of investment into the grids help us achieve our central goal of assuring security of supply while also getting us ready for the energy landscape of tomorrow.
We are seeing more centralised and decentralised renewable energy production, different consumption patterns and new opportunities. Smart grids let us integrate those tasks into existing infrastructure. For example, thanks to the installation of smart meters, Creos is now ready to integrate “energy communities” into the grid, where consumers in different locations with different supply and production patterns can share their energy among themselves.
The energy transition is also rooted in energy efficiency and renewable energy production. Through awareness campaigns, we continued our efforts to boost the efficient use of energy among our domestic, commercial and industrial customers. And in 2021 energy savings hit the highest levels we have ever seen.
As for renewable energy production, Enovos branched out from more traditional installations into innovative concepts such as photovoltaics (PV) on carports or floating PV plants. We are also seeing innovation accelerating in supply products too – a prime example being the Energiepark Südeifel, whose PV production is partly passed on directly to customers via renewable Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs).
Energy efficiency, renewable energy production and innovative products are also key tools for cushioning the excessive price increases that have shaken the energy markets since last summer – and which threaten to continue to shape the economic environment in the coming months due to the precarious geopolitical situation.
A sustainable energy transition depends equally on technical services. Overall 2021 was a year of consolidation – the rebrand from “Enovos Services” to “Teseos” sharpened the profile of this still young cornerstone of the group. And with diego now set up, we can serve our customers even better to drive forward the energy transition at all levels and include as many stakeholders as possible.
The Encevo Group thus supports the goals of Luxembourg’s National Energy and Climate Plan while acknowledging its deep roots across the Greater Region. Investment and projects in Luxembourg, Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands and France underline our ambition to contribute towards international targets for climate protection.
I am confident that 2022 will be another year of important milestones for the Encevo Group. We will continue to invest heavily in both grid operations and renewable energies, and, crucially, I know we can count on our employees’ commitment and expertise. I would like to take this opportunity to thank them all for their continued personal investment and ever-valuable work throughout the year.
Marc Schroeder
Member of the
Executive Committee
Encevo S.A.
CFO Encevo S.A.
Encevo achieved a new record investment level of
268
million €
in 2021
The group’s operational results (EBITDA of EUR 239 million) have exceeded expectations and are some EUR 15 million higher than in 2020. This is despite volatility and gas, power and EUA prices soaring to unprecedented levels during the second half of 2021.
The improved EBITDA stems from robust performance in Markets, Technical Services and Renewable Energies (the EBITDA contribution from Grids stayed flat, albeit at a high level).
In this volatile environment, stringent risk management combined with good performance of the Energy Management & Trading teams was key.
Encevo’s overall investment activity was high over the year, hitting a new record of EUR 268 million – some EUR 16 million above 2020. Of note was the EUR 203 million invested in grid and EUR 38 million in renewables.
One significant impairment negatively impacted EBIT and net profit in 2021 – our unsuccessful exit from B2B sales activities in Germany meant we had to book a provision for that activity in 2021.
The group’s net profit for the year 2021 came to EUR 79.7 million, EUR 41.5 million higher than in 2020.
In 2021, the group generated sustained sufficient cash flows to finance its record investment activities.
Operating cash flow of EUR 274 million exceeded the 2020 amount by EUR 12 million, largely due to improved results and lower working capital.
Free cash flow of EUR -8 million decreased by EUR -44 million compared to 2020, driven by higher investments, increased loans to participations and the one-off positive cash impact in 2020 linked to the first consolidation of some Technical Services and Renewables companies.
The group successfully accessed the debt capital markets in late 2021, with proceeds of EUR 200 million from a green German Schuldschein.
Consequently, consolidated net financial debt increased only slightly to EUR 489 million at the end of 2021, and gearing – the ratio of net financial debt to total equity – stayed flat at 34.8%. Both indicators were at or close to their lowest levels since 2012.
Capital and reserves further increased to EUR 1,404 million. This represents 43% of total assets, illustrating the group’s continued strong balance sheet.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and the ensuing war has significantly increased the risks related to the European energy sector.
This is a continued source of uncertainty regarding the overall economic outlook as well as for market prices, counterparty risk and physical supply risk. At the same time, potential regulatory/governmental intervention to cap prices for B2C customers cannot be excluded.
The group will continue with its high levels of investment in grid infrastructure. It will further intensify and accelerate its efforts in developing renewable projects in its core markets of Luxembourg, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, as well as in France.
In addition, the group will continue to focus on supporting its customers on their digital journey towards more efficient and sustainable energy consumption. We will offer additional services and increased renewable generation capabilities while ensuring overall competitive sourcing in these very challenging conditions to minimise the impact of price increases on customers.
Given the insight gained from the first few months of 2022, and subject to a swift end to the uncertainties surrounding the Russia/Ukraine conflict, we expect to maintain our financial performance from previous years at operational level.
Due to the increased market price levels and the continued growth in the group’s investments, it may be necessary to access the financial markets over the course of 2022.
Marc Reiffers
Member of the
Executive Committee
Creos Luxembourg
CEO Creos Luxembourg
« Our main challenge remains strengthening our grids and other infra structure to support a sustainable energy transition. »
In 2021, we entered the second year of the pandemic, and I’m proud to say that we handled the situation quite well. Our measures, such as fewer in-person meetings and remote working as much as possible, successfully helped limit the risks of infection without affecting our employees’ sense of being part of a company – they have remained committed and motivated throughout.
This was particularly apparent during the unprecedented flooding we saw in July. Although the damage to our infrastructure was minimal, our teams had to respond to multiple emergency situations in order to restore the supply to affected buildings. In the middle of the night, in very difficult – even dangerous – conditions, our employees were able to intervene very quickly and prevent catastrophic situations. I would like to thank them once again for their tremendous effort.
The supply chain is presenting a more persistent challenge. Some of our projects – particularly ultra-fast charging stations – have been significantly delayed due to the worldwide shortage of components. But despite the challenges, these stations are proving to be a huge success and have been very popular with drivers of fully electric cars.
We plan to install ultra-fast charging stations in several parking areas along the main motorways in Luxembourg. But we’re also seeing a significant rise in demand for both private charging points and photovoltaic installations.
This trend will undoubtedly accelerate in the next few years, which might be encouraging for a sustainable energy transition but will be challenging for us as a grid operator. This is precisely why we need to make further headway on smart grid infrastructure.
The myCreos portal, our customer relationship management tool, will be a key asset for dealing with customer requests. As it stands, almost all requests are sent via the portal and customer satisfaction is very high.
Our main challenge remains strengthening our grids and other infrastructure to support a sustainable energy transition – something which will require high levels of investment.
One success in this regard is our new site in Merl. Completed in 2021, this building marked the culmination of our modernisation strategy, which began with the construction of the Operations Centre and workshops in Roost in 2011 and continued with the extension of the Contern Centre in 2015 and the commissioning of the new dispatching facility in Bettembourg in 2020.
We will also continue to invest heavily in bolstering our electricity grids and transformers, digitising our infrastructure and developing smart systems to prepare the country for the energy transition.
What’s more, we have been tasked with designing, planning and managing the future national IT platform for energy data, which will speed up the digitisation of the sector and simplify communication between all stakeholders. In the long term, our future lies in the wake of digitisation, an area where we have already made giant strides.
Erik von Scholz
Member of the
Executive Committee
Enovos Luxembourg S.A.
CEO Enovos Luxembourg S.A.
Encevo achieved a new record of more than
163
GWh
in energy savings in 2021
By the end of summer, we were seeing extreme price increases, which started with natural gas but gradually affected power too. By Q4, we were on the brink of an energy price crisis. But our business model proved robust and our risk management helped us tackle our customer supply challenges. And we demonstrated clearly how reliable we are as a supplier. This reliability is not a given – we saw suppliers all over Europe who could not cope with the market environment.
As it stands, we cannot say for sure whether the high prices are temporary or will be with us for longer. But we do not see prices going back to the low levels we have had in the past few years. We will continue with our approach and try our best to protect our customers. It is important that we face the situation head-on and keep adapting and improving our processes. In the long term, we have three courses of action that we can – and will – take.
The first is customer centricity. Consistent, clear communication with our customers is paramount. All the efforts we have put into enhancing our call centre and customer platform have proven their worth. On top of that, we maintain strong ties with our partners, customers and the wider industry.
Expanding renewable energies in the Greater Region is another key element. We made substantial progress in 2021 in Luxembourg with innovative photovoltaic (PV) projects. Through Soler, we also further boosted our wind energy capacity in Luxembourg. And we have continued to build up our renewable assets in the Netherlands and Belgium. Our biggest current project has now started in the Südeifel region, where we have plans to build 11 PV projects for a total capacity of 215 MW.
Energy efficiency is an equally important course of action towards a sustainable energy transition. We have made incredible progress, achieving record energy savings of more than 163 GWh during 2021.
Our immediate challenge is the same as for our customers: high energy prices. So, we have to really speed up the energy transition. Renewable energy and energy efficiency can be important parts of the solution from a financial point of view too.
The energy world of tomorrow is strongly linked to global developments, and last year was a prime example. This is particularly apparent with natural gas. Yet there is a lot we can do locally to deal with this kind of crisis and prepare for the future. And a lot can be done at European level too.
At Enovos, we are of course focusing on a local approach, expanding renewable energies and reducing energy consumption alongside our customers.
Claude Seywer
Member of the
Executive Committee
Encevo S.A.
CFO Encevo S.A.
« We are moving towards a world in which energy production and storage will be increasingly decentralised. »
Last year was mainly one of consolidation. After three years of expansion, the technical services pillar now covers eight companies with more than 700 employees, both directly and through shareholdings. And a lot of work and thought have gone into making sure this pillar is set up for the future.
With technical services activities gaining in importance and maturity, the group decided the branch was in need of a rebrand. In doing so, we wanted a unique name that makes it clear that technical services is an independent pillar within the Encevo Group while still being closely tied to the other pillars, Creo and Enovos. And so, Teseos was born.
Technical services had good results overall and we are very satisfied with the growth at our subsidiaries, which exceeded expectations across the board. They showed strong order books, with activities really picking up again after the Covid-related dip. The branch was affected by problems due to supply chain shortages, but that was a global phenomenon caused by Covid.
Regarding our workforce, we are finding it more and more difficult to recruit the right people, but general trends are very good. A good number of projects were implemented through our subsidiaries, mainly in the domains of e-mobility and photovoltaic installations.
The importance of a joint effort for the energy transition cannot be overstated, and technical services lets us get more stakeholders actively involved. We are moving towards a world in which energy production and storage will be increasingly decentralised. E-mobility is growing at an impressive rate, energy efficiency is becoming more and more important, and the models of energy communities and self-consumption are closer and closer to becoming a reality – if they are not already.
These are all topics that we are either looking at or already working on so that we can continue to drive the energy transition forward. We are already in an excellent position and our new approach with diego will only strengthen us even more. Our goal is also to continue to grow – first and foremost organically. Beyond that, we see ourselves as a key player in the energy transition in the Greater Region, and we also hope to take our first steps in the area of technical services in Germany soon.
2,332
Employees
358
MW
Renewable net
installed capacity
17,824
Training hours
36g
Average CO2 emissions of our leasing fleet (target 50g CO2)
13.2
TWh
Energy Sales Power
3,653
MWh
Of green energy distributed on Chargy network
705
GWh
Total renewable
energy production
21.1
TWh
Energy Sales
Gas
6,000
GWh
electric power transported
41,640
GWh
of natural gas
2021
2020
21.1
24.1
13.2
10.8
2,516.8
1,998.1
238.6
223.3
273.9
262.2
(8.1)
36.2
79.7
38.2
3,266.8
2,728.7
1,403.9
1,343.8
34.8%
34.7%
268.4
252.1
Sustainability is a key asset for the Encevo Group, driving the success of Encevo’s strategy and performance. It is also a top priority for our leadership and all our people. Sustainability is firmly embedded in our strategy and our decisions every day. 2021 surely has been a challenging year, being the second year of the pandemic and ending with an energy price crisis. Despite this difficult context, notable achievements have been reached in the context of Encevo’s sustainability approach.
As a group, we are aware that, we influence the lives, work and environment of people living around us. We are expected to behave as responsible members of our communities. Each of our decisions and actions must justify the confidence of our employees, customers, business partners, stakeholders and all those we interact with. This has been our ambition in 2021 as well.
This approach also puts us in a strong position to seize new opportunities that arise as the move towards a more sustainable economy continues. Sustainable energy transition is the foundation for Encevo’s business. Customers as well as employees, partners and financial investors are drawn to companies that demonstrate environmental, social and governance responsibility. Encevo being forward-thinking and sustainable can leverage all these qualities and aims to live up to these expectations, which have yet again been raised to include leadership in areas such as human rights and measuring sustainability risks.
©Encevo 2023 . All Rights Reserved . encevo.eu
Digitalised by 
