On 23 April 2009, the Stadthalle Olten was the venue for the first Ordinary Annual General Meeting of Alpiq Holding Ltd. (formerly Atel Holding Ltd).
The company was created in February as a result of the merger of Olten-based Atel and Lausanne-based Energie Ouest Suisse SA (EOS). In his address to the 575 shareholders in attendance, Alpiq Chairman Hans E. Schweickardt stressed that even though the economy had recently declined, Alpiq was on the way up. "When the upswing comes, we aim to be ready for it," said Schweickardt. "Being ready also means setting realistic goals, and strengthening and extending our contribution to energy security in Switzerland and Europe. This is our core competence and that's why Atel and EOS have joined forces."
In its 115th and last year of operation, Atel achieved a record operating result despite the difficult general economic situation in the last quarter of 2008. Group revenue dipped to CHF 12.9 billion, while operating income (EBIT) was virtually on a par with the prior year at CHF 1 billion. While Group profit declined slightly, at CHF 733 million it was still impressive.
