Iberdrola's renewables EBITDA down by 5% in Q1

The renewables arm of Spanish utility Iberdrola (BME:IBE) saw its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) decrease by 5% to EUR 434 million (USD 474m) in the first quarter of 2017.

The company said today this was due to reduced wind availability in Spain, which affected performance. Still, renewables EBITDA in the UK, the US and Latin America was up by 7.2%, 2.8% and 18.9%, respectively.

Iberdrola’s total EBITDA fell by 8.2% year-on-year to EUR 1.86 billion. Even though the networks business profit grew by 9.1% to EUR 1.02 billion, the overall result was hit by lower rain and wind resource, higher taxes in Spain, and the weak performance of liberalised business in the UK.

The company said it expects to compensate for the low first-quarter figures as the year progresses.

Of total investments in the quarter, 46% went to the renewables business, 37% to networks, and 10% to contracted generation. Iberdrola has 6,500 MW of projects to be commissioned by the end of the decade, including 1,546 MW of onshore wind, 1,064 MW offshore wind, and 336 MW of solar.

The company expects improved operating results in the networks, renewables and contracted generation areas. It said about 1.4 GW of renewables capacity will go online in the coming quarters and wind conditions are seen to normalise.

Avangrid Inc (NYSE:AGR), in which Iberdrola owns 81.5%, reported a quarterly net profit of USD 239 million, up 13% on the year.

(EUR 1 = USD 1.091)

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