ESB made a after tax profit of €868m last year, a 30% increase on 2022.

The company said that it is “very mindful that high energy prices continue to pose challenges for the customers we serve”.

Due to the structure of the company, profits from its generating and trading business cannot be used to cover losses at its customer-facing businesses.

In 2023, that business made an operating loss of €12m, compared with €109m the previous year. ESB said that profitability was reduced at Electric Ireland without putting a value on it.

Capital expenditure rose to a record €1.7bn, while net debt decreased slightly to €6.45bn. The company said that its ambitious capital expenditure programme over the coming years can only be sustained by continuing to deliver significant levels of profitability.

Green credentials

The ESB’s carbon emissions from electricity generation in 2023 were almost 30% lower than 2022, with wind supplying just over 30% of electricity generation during the year.

The use of gas dropped to 47%, while coal was at 4.5%. The company said it plans to stop coal-fired generation at Moneypoint, Co Clare, by 2025, with the plant becoming an oil-fired temporary emergency generation station from 2025 to 2029.

The company said it continues to develop wind assets, including through the FuturEnergy Ireland joint venture with Coillte aimed at constructing up to 1,000MW of onshore wind generation on Coillte lands.

The ESB also entered a partnership with Ørsted to develop a portfolio of wind projects off the coast of Ireland.

Dividend

The company will pay a dividend to the Irish State of €220m. It also said that its contribution to the Irish economy in the form of payrolls, taxes, dividends and purchases from domestic suppliers was over €2.7bn.

By division, ESB Networks’ operating profit for the year was €359m, generation and trading was at €730m, Northern Ireland Electricity Networks was at €78m and Customer Solutions saw an operating loss of €12m.