The energy group E.ON is benefiting in the current financial year from cooler weather, cost savings and the elimination of negative corona effects.

In the third quarter, adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of 765 million euros increased by more than half compared to the same period in the previous year, as the Dax group announced in Essen on Wednesday.

The group confirmed the forecast raised in August.

The share gained 0.25 percent at the start of trading.

E.ON's core business contributed more than 80 percent to the operating result from July to September. After a loss of 99 million euros in the previous year, the customer solutions division included in it has now returned to the black with an increase of 150 percent. Higher sales volumes and cost savings in Great Britain had a positive effect. The energy networks segment has the largest share in the core business, with the result declining slightly by six percent.

Business, which E.ON does not count as part of its core business, also increased significantly from 57 to 143 million euros.

This can essentially be traced back to PreussenElektra.

E.ON benefits here, for example, from expenses received back for the purchase of residual nuclear electricity.

The total effect of the compensation payments in connection with the nuclear phase-out amounts to 600 million euros this year.

Investors not convinced in the long term

Group-wide sales rose by 17 percent to 15.1 billion euros in the third quarter.

Consolidated net income largely follows the adjusted operating result and also benefits from a lower tax rate: the bottom line for E.ON is 424 million euros, more than three times as much as a year earlier.

And thus around a third more than the analysts had expected in advance.

Barclays analyst Peter Crampton called the quarterly results "solid".

Looking ahead to the first nine months, E.ON is already at the lower end of the forecast range of 2.2 to 2.4 billion euros for the full year with a surplus of 2.2 billion euros.

However, this was not able to convince investors in the long term.

After the share was in positive territory at the beginning of trading, it lost something and is now hovering around eleven euros.

The further course development therefore remains unclear. Over the course of the year, the papers have increased by over 20 percent. Since the end of August, however, the papers have weakened a bit, just like those of the second large utility, RWE. In an environment of rising yields on the bond market, with key interest rates likely to rise soon, utility stocks are generally struggling. Higher interest rates increase the cost of financing your power plants, for example, but also your liabilities.

E.ON plans to hold a capital market day on November 23.

Then the CEO Leonhard Birnbaum, who has been in office since April, wants to present the future strategy.

Analysts expect that the business in the segments networks and customer solutions as well as digital initiatives will then be dealt with in more depth.

In addition, the financial framework can be expected for at least three years, including the extension of the forecast period to 2024.