http://www.newenergyworldnetwork.com/renewable-energy-news/by-technology/wind/vattenfall-sales-sink-wind-power-doubles.html

Swedish renewable energy producer and project developer Vattenfall’s net sales sank by over a quarter in the first quarter of 2011 due to the sale of its German transmission business last May.

Its levels of electricity generation remained strong, however, as the company doubled its wind power production and decreased its nuclear power output.
Vattenfall’s consolidated operating profit for the period also shrank by 27 per cent to SEK11.15bn (€1.27bn), while its consolidated gross profit dropped 25 per cent to SEK6.71bn.
The developer said the reductions were largely the result of an impairment charge on the sale of its transmission business that made a SEK5bn dent in its net figures. Its return on equity was 12.6 per cent and its return on net assets during the quarter was nearly ten per cent, a little shy of its target return, Vattenfall said.
Its electricity generation showed positive signs of increase, rising 4.6 per cent in the first quarter to 49.8TWh. The biggest proportional rise was seen in the wind power generation, which more than doubled in the period to nearly one TWh.
In the aftermath of concerns over Japan’s Fukushima nuclear energy plant, Vattenfall’s nuclear power generation fell by over 37 per cent. Hydropower generation also slumped by nearly 15 per cent to 8.7TWh during the period and heat sales dipped six per cent, while biomass electricity production remained unchanged.
A recovery of demand from industry contributed to a rise in spot prices in most markets. However, average spot prices for the Swedish price area were 8.7 per cent lower during the first quarter of 2011 than in the first quarter of 2010.
Øystein Løseth, Vattenfall’s president and CEO, said, ‘The first quarter of the year was overshadowed by the earthquake and tsunami disaster in Japan and the ensuing accident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
‘The disaster in Japan and the unrest in the Arab countries have affected prices of commodities and electricity, but it is still too early to comment on the long-term consequences. We can note that the German government has ordered the closure of seven older nuclear reactors and issued a moratorium on the extension of the operating permits for all German reactors.’