Germany's second-biggest power supplier RWE said Thursday its net profits had fallen by more than a quarter in the first three months of the year, hit by Berlin's decision to scrap nuclear power.

Net profits fell by 28 percent in the first quarter of the year to 1.3 billion euros ($1.7 billion) on broadly flat earnings of 15.6 billion euros, the firm said in a statement.

However, the firm was bullish about the outlook for this year, saying: "After significant one-off burdens caused by energy policy decisions taken in Germany during 2011, RWE will regain ground this year."

In the wake of the nuclear disaster in Fukushima, Japan, last year Berlin decided to phase out nuclear power, forcing energy suppliers to shutdown their profitable large-scale power plants.

The government also levied a tax on the reactors' fuel for their remaining lifespan.

Despite the headwinds stemming from this decision, RWE said it "continues to forecast that it will be able to end the year with an operating result and recurrent net income at 2011 levels."

The first quarter results were harmed by a comparison with the first three months of last year, because the nuclear exit decision had not yet been taken at that point.

On Wednesday, RWE's big rival E.ON also saw its net profits decline by around 24 percent but offered a sunny outlook for the rest of the year.

Investors seemed cheered by RWE's results, with shares up 0.84 percent, roughly the same gain as the wider DAX market of leading German stocks.