German energy company RWE evolving for success

March 14 (UPI) -- German energy company RWE said it's "back on track" after retooling its footing in the market and riding on the success of its renewable energy arm.

Germany's energy sector is shifting focus away from nuclear power and fossil fuels to one focused more on renewables, leaving energy companies like RWE scrambling to catch up. Germany as a whole has one of the greener economies in Europe and RWE already moved in the low-carbon direction by working with port officials to create infrastructure to fuel vessels with cleaner-burning liquefied natural gas.

The company said Tuesday its earnings last year were at the high-end of its expectations and improvements were expected to continue for the rest of the 2017 fiscal year. Its green energy division, Innogy, put the parent company "on a solid financial basis" and RWE said its credit rating was still at investment grade.

"RWE is back on track," CEO Rolf Martin Schmitz said in a statement. "We made major progress in reorganizing the business last year, which has enabled us to return to reliable planning while giving us room to maneuver when taking entrepreneurial action."

In the wake of Japan's nuclear disaster in 2011, German Chancellor Angela Merkel ordered eight of the country's 17 nuclear reactors closed by the end of that year and a total shutdown by 2022. More than halfway through the transition, RWE said it was moving from an electricity producer to a company focused more on the security and reliability of energy supply.

With a footing in Europe, the company said it was now setting its sights on the growing markets in Asia and position itself as a driver of evolving supply trends like LNG.

"We have done our homework," the CEO said.