Thursday May 15, 08:40 AM
National Grid will look at transmission assets in Germany - CEO UPDATE
(Adds detail, company results)
LONDON (Thomson Financial) - National Grid Plc (LSE: NG.L - news) is considering buying into the
German power grid as E.ON AG plans to sell its transmission assets in the country, said chief executive Steve Holliday on a conference call.
E.ON plans to sell its grid as well as some 4,800 MW of power-generating capacity to end a pending European Commission anti-trust probe, and the German utility said yesterday that it has received interest from foreign transmission system operators.
While National Grid has in the past said that it plans to concentrate on its core markets in the U.S. and the United Kingdom, the changing situation in Germany could tempt the UK utility.
'The situation in Germany has changed quite rapidly from what we saw two years ago. If it [the transmission grid] were to open up, we would be interested,' said Holliday, reiterating that the price must be right.
'It needs to be something that creates value for us,' he said. 'We would be great stewards of the assets in Germany if we were able to acquire them at a price that makes sense.'
National Grid, which acquired the North American energy company Keyspan (NYSE: KSE - news) in August for $11.7 billion, reported a 30 percent rise in capital investment for the year to 3.1 billion pounds and while transmission assets in Germany are of interest, the 3.1 billion is likely to remain flat for the next four of five years, said Holliday.
In the UK and U.S., the main focus of investment will be new sources of generation and replacement of ageing assets, Holliday said.
National Grid reported a rise in full year adjusted pretax profit to 1.8 billion pounds from 1.5 billion pounds last year, in line with analysts' expectations.
The UK gas and electricity distributor reported a 25 percent rise in adjusted earnings per share to 48 pence, also in line with expectations.
The company said that it expects 2008/09 to be another strong year, shown by the already-announced 15 percent dividend rise this year and further 8 percent rises each year to 2012.
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