The renewables business of Spanish utility Iberdrola (BME:IBE) generated earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of EUR 603.5 million (USD 736.4m) in the first quarter of 2018, up 13.9% in annual terms.
The company said on Tuesday the improvement was due to the more favourable wind conditions and the increase in its installed renewable energy capacity. At the end of March, Iberdrola Renewables had 29,275 MW of renewable power plants, which is 5% more than in the year-ago period.
The division's average operating capacity expanded by 7.5% driven by increases in the UK and the US, as well as the reorganisation in Brazil, which in turn lifted output by 18.4% year-on-year to 15,284 GWh.
The consolidated load factor arrived at 26.4%, climbing by 2.4 percentage points year-on-year, while the average selling price of renewable power fell by 7% to EUR 61.8/MWh due to local currency fluctuations and the depreciation of the Brazilian real.
More details on the performance of the Iberdrola Renewables business are available in the table.
| EUR million |
Q1 2018 |
Q1 2017 |
| Revenue |
1,049.8 |
960.8 |
| EBITDA |
603.5 |
529.7 |
| EBIT |
344.1 |
286.2 |
| Pre-tax profit |
305.2 |
260.5 |
| Net profit |
243.8 |
193.1 |
In the three-month period, the renewables segment provided 26% of Iberdrola's overall EBITDA, the second largest contribution after networks with 52%. It also came second in terms of investment, getting a share of 37%.
Since the start of the year, the Spanish firm has commissioned 1,905 MW of renewables and contracted generation capacity and plans to switch on a total of 7,790 MW by 2020 and an additional 1,301 MW in 2022.
The company’s current operational renewables portfolio of 29,275 MW includes 15,533 MW of onshore and 544 MW of offshore wind capacity, 12,574 MW of hydropower plants, and some mini-hydro and solar assets.
Iberdrola closed the first three months of 2018 with a net profit of EUR 838 million, up 1.2% on a yearly basis, and EBITDA of EUR 2.32 billion, which improved by 24% thanks to the good operating performance of all business segments. The Spanish group reiterated its full-year EBITDA forecast of over EUR 9 billion and net profit of close to EUR 3 billion.
(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.220)
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Offshore wind farm. Photo by: Iberdrola (www.iberdrola.com).
