Iberdrola's 9-mo renewables EBITDA shrinks 20% Y/Y

Oct 22, 2014 - Spanish power utility Iberdrola (BME:IBE) said today its EBITDA from the renewables segment had dropped by 20.1% year-on-year to EUR 927.5 million (USD 1.18bn) in the first nine months of 2014.

The decrease in EBITDA, which stands for earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, reflects regulatory and tax measures at home, as the government cut subsidies for renewable energy retroactively. The company's renewable energy business in Spain alone witnessed a 44% fall in nine-month EBITDA, as it was also affected by a lower load factor for Iberdrola's wind farms there.

These effects could not be fully offset by a 103% jump in Latin America EBITDA, an 11% rise in the UK and a 2% increase in the US. The solid EBITDA result in Latin America is attributed to an increase in the firm's installed renewable energy capacity in Mexico and Brazil plus a 49% rise in output, Iberdrola noted. As per the performance of the group’s renewable energy activities in the rest of the world, the EBITDA went down by 39% following the sale of 184 MW of Polish plants in 2013.

Overall, Iberdrola experienced a 19.5% decline in January-September net earnings to EUR 1.83 billion, even though group EBITDA climbed 1.4% to EUR 5.21 billion. Revenues went down by 3.1% to EUR 22.2 billion.

Iberdrola said it is raising its full-year EBITDA forecast to at least EUR 6.6 billion in view of the good performance of its non-renewable businesses during the first three quarters.

(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.269)

Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!