Renewable

March 19 (Renewables Now) - Italian energy giant Enel SpA (BIT:ENEL) on Thursday posted a 9% year-on-year rise in group net ordinary income to EUR 5.2 billion (USD 4.37bn) regardless of a 19.1% drop in revenues.

The group said the increase in its bottom line was recorded thanks to lower net financial expenses and a decrease in the share of profit attributable to minorities because of better results in Italy and Spain and its now higher shareholding in Enel Americas and Enel Chile. These factors were only partially offset by a rise in taxes.

The table below gives more details on Enel’s financial performance in 2020.

The slight improvement in ordinary earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) reflects a EUR-103-million higher contribution from Enel Green Power after a better performance in Italy and the entry into service of new plants in the US, Canada, Spain, Brazil and Greece. There was also growth in Thermal Generation and Trading, and, together, these positive impacts more than offset the EUR-514-million decrease in Infrastructure and Networks as well as the drop in the margin related to the End-user markets.

"During 2021, in line with the Strategic Plan and its decarbonization as well as digitalization objectives, we plan to accelerate investments in renewables, in the improvement of the quality and resiliency of networks, and in the electrification of consumption,” said Francesco Starace, CEO of the Enel Group.

Enel said that in the period 2021-2023, it will invest some EUR 40 billion directly, including EUR 38 billion through its “Ownership” business model and a further EUR 2 billion through the “Stewardship” business model. In addition, it will mobilise EUR 8 billion from third parties.

Solely under the “Ownership” business model, it intends to spend around EUR 17 billion on increasing its renewable energy generating capacity to 60 GW in 2023.

The group’s ordinary EBITDA and net ordinary income targets for the period remain as set last year.

(EUR 1.0 = USD 0.840)