Iberdrola Posts First Quarter Profit Increase of 15 Percent

The group is moving forward with 4,100 new MW of capacity scheduled for 2019, which will increase annual production by 13%, and another 8,800 MW between 2020 and 2022.

Spanish public multinational electric utility company, Iberdrola recently issued its first quarter financial results. Obtaining a net profit of €963.9 million in the first three months, the company recorded a 15 percent increase over the same period in the previous year.

The company has given the credit for the high returns to its investment strategy, with more than €5.3 billion invested by the group in the last twelve months. Growth in all businesses and the improvement in cost/income ratio achieved in all countries, especially in Brazil, also allowed the company to increase its gross operating profit (EBITDA) by 11.9% to €2.599 billion.

Iberdrola chairman Ignacio Galán said, “these results, together with the progress on our various growth initiatives, reaffirm our positive outlook for the full year 2019.”

The company’s revenues increased by 8.5% to March, reaching €10.138 billion, and the gross margin improved by 7.8% to reach €4.323 billion for the quarter.

By businesses, the Renewables business posted an operating profit of €683.6 million, up by 13.3%. This business was driven by the increased contribution from renewables in the UK and Latin America, as well as from offshore wind power thanks to the contribution from the Wikinger wind farm, in the German section of the Baltic Sea.

Elsewhere, the Generation & Retail business posted EBITDA of €600.5 million between January and March, up by 19.2%, thanks to the positive trends in Spain and Mexico. Networks posted EBITDA of €1.318 billion, up by 9.9%, with growth in all countries, especially Brazil and the United States.

The group’s cash generation increased by 8.5% in the first quarter, reaching €2.036 billion. 

Iberdrola’s capital expenditure in the first quarter of the year amounted to €1.2 billion, 87% of which was on Networks and Renewables. Over the past twelve months, the company has invested a total of €5.3 billion.

The group continues to increase its capacity. During the first quarter of the year, Iberdrola installed 331 new megawatts (MW), which together with the more than 3,803 new MW scheduled for the remainder of 2019 will bring the total to 4,134 new MW installed over the course of the year. This new capacity will enable the company to increase its annual production by more than 13%. The group also expects to increase its capacity in 8,800 MW over the period 2019-2022.