The four largest listed energy companies in Spain earn 10,247 million until September and exceed the record of 2022

The four largest listed energy companies in Spain (Iberdrola, Endesa, Naturgy and Repsol) achieved a joint profit of 10,247 million euros in the first nine months of 2024, exceeding the record profits of 9,037 million that they achieved until September 2022.

That year, natural gas prices shattered all the highs after the energy crisis that followed the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and in the first nine months of that year the five largest in the sector (including Cepsa, which did not listed on the stock market) recorded a profit of more than 10,000 million.

This extraordinary context and the “fallen from heaven benefits” that the International Energy Agency (IEA) had warned of as soon as the conflict broke out in Ukraine led the Government to mobilize with a battery of measures to mitigate the impact on consumers. such as VAT reductions on the bill, reinforcement of social bonds, introduction of the so-called gas cap for electricity generation or the extraordinary tax on the sector.

Now, this tribute, which the PSOE and Sumar had agreed in their Government agreement to make permanent by reformulating it, has just declined this week due to the lack of parliamentary support, and specifically, from Junts and the PNV.

With the price and inflation crisis already overcome, the four major listed energy companies have registered this new record in profits for the first nine months of the year despite the drop in Repsol’s profits, which was the last to present results this year. Thursday.

The largest Spanish oil company, whose president, Antonio Brufau, celebrated 20 years in office on Sunday, has been the most affected by this tax (which taxes company sales, not profits) and has led the campaign to overthrow it. Repsol reduced its profits between January and September by 37%, to 1,792 million, a figure that is well below the record of 3,222 million that it registered in the same period of 2022, in a context of “normalization” of the market.

Despite the lower profits, Repsol has announced a 19% increase in the interim dividend for the year, up to 0.475 euros per share. Its CEO, Josu Jon Imaz, celebrated this Thursday that the tax has decreased: “Fortunately the problem is over” and it is “a positive decision that allows us to move forward with the industrial investments we have planned in Spain,” he said. the former leader of the PNV.

The sector’s record profits in the first nine months of the year do not include the figures of the other major Spanish oil company, Cepsa, recently renamed Moeve to illustrate its shift to renewables. The company from the emirate of Abu Dhabi will present its quarterly results on November 24.

The record profits of these first nine months are mainly explained by the results achieved by Iberdrola and Naturgy. In the lead in terms of profits, the Basque multinational stands out in particular, whose CEO, Ignacio Sánchez Galán, already said last week that he did not see the future of the tax on the sector “clear.”

The company earned 5,470.7 million in the first nine months of the year, 50.4% more, driven by the 1,165 million in capital gains from the sale of assets in Mexico. A figure much higher than the profits of 3,103 million that were recorded between January and September 2022. Iberdrola has once again improved its forecasts for 2024 in which it points to new record profits and dividends. Excluding capital gains from Mexico, its net profit was 4,305.5 million, 18.4% more.

For its part, Endesa earned 1,404 million until September, 32.6% more, compared to the profits of 1,651 million recorded in the first nine months of 2022. The subsidiary of the Italian Enel reaffirmed that it is in a comfortable situation to achieve the high range of the objectives set for 2024: close the year with a gross operating profit (Ebida) of between 4,900 and 5,200 million and a net ordinary result of 1,600-1,700 million.

Finally, Naturgy presented an update of its figures this week, with a record profit of 1,580 million until September and a gross operating result (Ebitda) of 4,292 million. The company did not release these figures in 2023, when it announced that it would stop presenting quarterly results.

The former Gas Natural Fenosa ended up closing last year with a record profit of 1,986 million. Naturgy will present its new strategic plan in February 2025, along with its 2024 results. The company has confirmed its expectations for the current year as a whole, above the market consensus, and which would exceed 5,300 million Ebitda and 1,800 million net result.