E.On profits hit by UK customer woes

A fall in the number of UK customers has hit quarterly profits at German energy giant E.On.

The group, one of the UK's "big six" energy suppliers, said its overall revenues were down 7% because of the decline in the UK.

E.On also said that the lower value of the pound since the Brexit referendum vote had caused "currency-translation effects".

E.On has about 4.6 million UK customers but did not say how many it had lost.

Adjusted profit for the first three months of the year - before interest and tax - was just over 1bn euros (£843m), down 34% on the same period a year earlier.

After interest and taxes, its adjusted net income was about 525m euros, a fall of 20%.

The fall in the value of sterling means that E.On's UK sales are worth less when converted into euros.

Chief financial officer Marc Spieker said the first-quarter performance was "in line with our expectations despite a difficult business environment".

In March, E.On reported a record €16bn (£13.9bn) full-year loss for 2016, mainly reflecting its move away from generating electricity from fossil fuels and a greater focus on renewable energy.