Germany's RWE raises 2022 outlook on strong trading

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - RWE, Germany's largest power producer, on Wednesday raised its profit outlook for 2022, citing "exceptionally high" results at its commodity trading division as well as its business covering biomass, gas and hydroelectric power.

The company now expects adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA of between 5.0 billion and 5.5 billion euros ($5.1-$5.6 billion), up from a previous range of 3.6 billion to 4.0 billion euros.

"This puts us in an even stronger position to deliver our 'Growing Green' strategy by allowing further investments into the energy transition," Chief Financial Officer Michael Mueller said in a statement.

RWE, which confirmed it would pay a dividend of 0.90 euros per share for 2022, is scheduled to release first-half results on Aug. 11. Preliminary first-half adjusted EBITDA was up 63% at 2.86 billion euros, it said.

Shares in the group, which has earmarked 50 billion euros in gross investments by 2030 to expand in renewables and flexible generation such as gas, rose after the news and were up 3.7%, among the top gainers in Germany's blue-chip DAX index.

The group also said it would provide a new outlook for 2023 at a later date, adding that guidance would be higher than the 2.9 billion to 3.3 billion euro forecast range communicated in November.

($1 = 0.9878 euros)

(Reporting by Christoph Steitz; Editing by Maria Sheahan and Thomas Escritt)