Awwal 07, 1432, Feb 10, 2011, SPA -- Swedish state-owned energy group Vattenfall on Thursday reported a slight drop in annual net profit and said the market outlook for utilities "continues to be challenging," according to dpa. Net profit in 2010 was 13.18 billion kronor (2 billion dollars), down 2 per cent compared to 2009. Net sales during the year totalled 213 billion kronor, up 4 per cent year-on-year. Fourth-quarter 2010 net profit was up almost 17 per cent to 2.46 billion kronor year-on-year, although net sales declined some 15 per cent to 55 billion kronor. The lower net sales were attributed to the stronger Swedish currency and the sale of the group's German transmission business. Vattenfall said electricity production increased 8.6 per cent in the year with increases from all sources of production - hydropower, wind power, nuclear power and fossil fuels. Higher electricity prices in the Nordic region were, however, offset by lower prices in continental Europe, the group said. The increase in nuclear-power production was linked to the utility's Swedish plants. In Germany, the Brunsbuettel and Kruemmel nuclear plants remained offline. Vattenfall owns 50 per cent of Kruemmel. Citing the challenging outlook for utilities amid lower growth in demand, chief executive Oystein Loseth said Vattenfall would focus on "efficiency and concentrate our business to areas in which we have competitive advantages." The group has operations in the Nordic region, Germany, Poland, Belgium and Netherlands. At the end of 2010 it employed some 38,100 people, down almost 5 per cent compared to 2009.
