Our German municipal utility shareholdings in Kiel, Offenbach, Ingolstadt, Solingen and Köthen and the twelve district heating shareholdings at our wholly-owned Czech subsidiary MVV Energie CZ a.s. generated sales of Euro 1 222 million prior to consolidation in the 2008/09 financial year. The previous year’s sales (including the Polish subgroup) amounted to Euro 1 138 million (+ 7 %). All of the aforementioned shareholdings reported sales growth.

As a result of the period of high coal and oil prices, the majority of our municipal utility shareholdings raised their prices in the electricity, district heating and gas businesses at the beginning of the 2008/09 financial year and in some cases as of 1 January 2009. Given the reduction in listed oil prices, all shareholdings introduced double-digit percentage cuts in their gas rates as of 1 April 2009. MVV Energie AG also reduced its district heating rates as of the same date.

Adjusted EBIT at our municipal utility and district heating shareholdings decreased year-on-year by Euro 1 million (– 1 %) to Euro 111 million.

The cost-cutting and efficiency enhancement measures already introduced by Stadtwerke Kiel AG (SWK) are being upheld. Of crucial importance for SWK is the future alignment of the power plant Gemeinschaftskraftwerk Kiel (GKK). As well as an extension to the plant’s lifecycle, alternatives to coal, the fuel currently used, are also under review.

In December 2008, the supervisory boards of Stadtwerke Velbert and the investment company of the town of Velbert decided against Rheinisch-Bergischer Stadtwerke-Verbund (RBSV), an association of the municipal utility companies of the towns of Solingen, Remscheid and Velbert due to be launched on 1 January 2009. Following the failure of this three-way merger with Velbert, the municipal utility companies in Remscheid and Solingen investigated the possibility of a grid cooperation and rejected this at the end of September 2009. Overall, it was apparent that the regulatory risks virtually balanced out the synergies expected from a joint grid company.