E.ON's nine-month profit soars on weather, cost cuts, one-offs

MUNICH (Reuters) - E.ON's nine-month profit rose by nearly half, the German energy firm said on Wednesday, citing cooler weather, cost cuts at its British retail business as well as compensation related to the country's nuclear exit.

Nine-month adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) rose 46% to 3.93 billion euros ($4.54 billion), the company said.

E.ON confirmed it still expects adjusted EBIT of 4.4 billion to 4.6 billion euros for the full year.

Profits at its customer solutions segment, which handles retail accounts and energy-related services, more than doubled to 910 million euros in the third quarter from 386 million a year earlier.

E.ON's two-pillar structure spans regulated power and gas distribution grids and customer solutions.

Germany struck a deal in March with the country's nuclear plant operators to address the financial consequences of its decision to fully abandon the technology by 2022, a process that was accelerated in the wake of Japan's Fukushima crisis.

E.ON has bundled its legacy nuclear power activities at its PreussenElektra division, where January-September adjusted EBIT more than tripled to 826 million euros, accounting for more than a fifth of group profit.

($1 = 0.8655 euros)

(Reporting by Christoph Steitz and Vera Eckert,; Editing by Riham, Kirsti Knolle)