RWE Earnings To Rise On Acquisitions

RWE, Europe's third largest utility, has said that the integration of Transgas and Innogy Holdings, which it bought for about $11 billion this year, will help boost 2002 earnings by at least ten percent.

Operating profit will “rise significantly” from last year's 3.9 billion euros ($3.7 billion), Chief Executive Officer Dietmar Kuhnt told shareholders, reiterating an earlier forecast. Sales will rise from last year's fifty three billion euros, he said.

Kuhnt, who faces shareholders for the last time before stepping down in February, has announced purchases worth thirty two billion dollars in the last two years, including Innogy, the UK's biggest power supplier, and Transgas, a Czech gas company. His successor will focus on squeezing profit from the spending spree.

“No more major acquisitions are slated for the future,” Kuhnt said. “The task is now to integrate our new enterprises into RWE and quickly enhance the company's value.”

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