Energia said it is “monitoring” the impact of elevated and volatile global fuel prices on its business as it reported solid full-year results and eyes its imminent takeover by French private equity firm Ardian. The comments follow moves by Electric Ireland, the ESB unit and largest gas and electricity supplier in the Republic, and Yuno Energy, which was only founded in 2023, to announce increases in customer prices in recent weeks, following a surge in wholesale energy costs as a result of the ongoing Middle East conflict. Energia last raised power prices in October, while leaving gas rates unchanged. Energia’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) edged 1.7 per cent higher to €329.1 million for its financial year to the end of March, according to its latest annual report, published on its website in recent days. “We continue to monitor the impact of elevated and volatile wholesale process for gas and resulting higher [single energy market] price for electricity. We expect the group to continue to deliver robust overall financial performance through its regulated and contracted revenues supported by its integrated business model,” said company, led by chief executive Ian Thom, in the report. US investment group I Squared, which has owned Energia for a decade, agreed in early October to sell the business to Ardian. While the price was not disclosed, the deal is believed to have put an enterprise value on the business, which was once known as Viridian Group, of about €2.5 billion. The European Commission approved the transaction in February. Energia said that the deal remains on track to close by the end of June. Ebitda in the group’s electricity and gas supply business, which has about 885,000 household and business customers, rose 6.9 per cent to €116.1 million. Earnings in its renewables unit, which owns 383 megawatts (MW) of wind assets and purchases electricity from 1.11 gigawatts (GW) of third-party green energy producers, were unchanged at €121.4 million. During the financial year, Energia completed two new wind farms in counties Clare and Kerry, bringing our total number of wind farms to 18. Energia’s North Celtic Sea offshore wind joint venture with Norway’s Vårgrønn missed out on being awarded a long-term price contract on offer from the Government in an auction round late last year. Ebitda in the flexible generation division, mainly made up of two combined cycle gas turbine plants in Huntstown in north Co Dublin with a total capacity of 747MW, dropped 2 per cent to €91.6 million. An Bord Pleanála gave Energia’s flexible energy business permission a year ago to build a data centre in Huntstown in partnership with tech giant Microsoft.