Improved underlying result for Vattenfall

• Net sales rose 4.0% to 213,572 MSEK (205,407)
• Operating profit for 2010 rose 6.9% to 29,853 million (27, 938). Excluding items affecting comparability1), operating profit rose 27.7% to SEK 39,952 million (31,294)
• Profit (after tax) for the year decreased by 2,0% to SEK 13,185 million. Excluding items affecting comparability, profit for the year (after tax) rose 44,4% to SEK 23,194 million (16,054)
• Operating profit for the fourth quarter decreased by 12.8 % to SEK 4,946 million (5,673). Excluding items affecting comparability, operating profit for the fourth quarter rose  6.7% to SEK 9,732 million (9,117)
• The Board of Directors proposes a dividend of SEK 6,500 million, corresponding to SEK 49.35 per share

1) Items affecting comparability pertain to capital gains and capital losses on shares and other non-current assets, and to impairment and reversed impairment of assets. Total items affecting comparability in 2010 amounted to SEK –10,099 million (2009: SEK–3,356 million).

"I am pleased to be able to report an improved operating profit for 2010, despite large one-off costs. We have increased our production volumes and lowered our operating and maintenance expenses, and with our new business-led organisation I see great potential for further efficiency improvement. The market outlook for energy companies continues to be challenging, with pressure on margins and weak growth in demand. It is therefore of utmost importance that we increase the company's efficiency and concentrate our business to areas in which we have competitive advantages and have or could have a strong position”, says Vattenfall’s CEO Øystein Løseth.

The improvement in operating profit is mainly attributable to higher production volumes, lower operating and maintenance expenses, lower costs for sales and administration, and an improved result for the trading operations.

Average lower prices received a negative effect on consolidated operating profit, by approximately SEK 5.5 billion. Higher prices received in the Nordic operations were offset by lower prices received in Continental Europe. A large share of Vattenfalls’s generation is hedged through contracts previously entered into in the forward market. Currency movements had a negative effect on operating profit by SEK 0.7 billion as a result of the stronger Swedish krona.

Vattenfalls total electricity generation increased by 8.6% to 172.5 TWh (158.9). Electricity generation volumes increased for all types of energy. Nuclear power generation increased by 5.1% to 43.6 TWh (41.5).

Return on equity was 10.0% (9.5%) and the return on net assets was 9.1% (10.0%). Vattenfall’s long-term rate of return on equity is 15% over a business cycle (5–7 years). The target return on net assets is 11%.

Vattenfall discloses the information provided herein pursuant to the Swedish Securities Market Act.

The full Year-end report is available in English at http://www.vattenfall.com (select “Investors”).

Conference Call for analysts and investors
Commencing at 10:00 (CET), Vattenfall’s President and CEO, Øystein Løseth and CFO Dag Andresen, will host a conference call for investors and analysts presenting the results, followed by a Question & Answer session. The conference call will be audiocast.

To participate in the Conference Call please dial one of the following numbers a few minutes before 10:00 CET.

+44 (0) 203 059 58 62 (UK)
+46 (0) 85 051 0031 (Sweden)
+33 (0) 170 918 706 (France)
+49 (0) 69 2 22 22 05 93 (Germany)
 0800 949 45 17 (Netherlands Toll Free)

Participants from other countries are kindly asked to use the Swedish number.

Presentation slides
To download the presentation slides, please visit www.vattenfall.com / Investors / Presentations

Audiocast
To follow Vattenfall’s presentation on the Internet (audio and slides), please click on the link “audiocast” on http://www.vattenfall.com. Please note that you will need “Real Player” or “Windows Media Player” to follow the presentations.

Press Conference
Start at 11:30 (CET), CEO, Øystein Løseth and CFO Dag Andresen will present the results to journalists at a press conference commencing at 11.30 CET at Vattenfall Head Office, Sturegatan 10, Stockholm, Sweden.  The press conference will be in English.

Join the press conference by telephone
Journalists unable to attend in Stockholm can call in to the press conference and participate by phone using the same telephone numbers as above. Call in a few minutes before 11.30 for instructions on how to put questions through to the conference.

Presentation slides
To download the presentation slides, please visit www.vattenfall.com / Press & News

Replay
The press conference will be recorded and available as a podcast approximately one hour after the press conference on www.vattenfall.com / Press & News.

For further information, please contact:
Ivo Banek, Head of Media Relations, mobile +49 171 866 21 54
Klaus Aurich, Head of Investor Relations, phone +46 (0) 8 739 65 14, mobile +46(0) 70 539 65 14


From Vattenfall's Press Office, telephone: +46 (0) 8 739 50 10, press@vattenfall.com