Germany's Eon Plans €27B Investment To Expand Network

The new chief executive of Eon on Tuesday announced an investment package of around 27 billion euros ($3.4 billion) in a push to make the company greener and more digital, Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) reported.

Photo Insert: Eon CEO Leo Birnbaum

The funds are to be invested by 2026 and will mainly go towards expanding the German energy giant's distribution network, CEO Leonhard Birnbaum said. The announcement comes just eight months after Birnbaum took the top job at the Essen-headquartered company.

"Eon is now launching a comprehensive growth and investment offensive to build a CO2-free, digital energy world," the 54-year-old said.

On a "Capital Markets Day" held for investors, he promised shareholders annual growth in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (Ebitda) of around 4 percent, ultimately reaching around 7.8 billion euros in 2026.

Eon is Germany's largest electricity and gas supplier. It also operates by far the nation's biggest distribution system. In Europe, the group had more than 52 million customers at the end of June, 14 million of whom were in Germany.

Of the 27 billion euros, Eon plans to invest 22 billion in the expansion of its energy networks. Eon expects to connect an additional 35 to 40 gigawatts of renewable energies to its grids over the next five years.

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