Enel reports 6.5% increase in core profit for the 9-mth period on renewable energy growth

Enel, Italy's largest utility, announced on Wednesday that its core profit for the nine months ended September rose by 6.5% on an annual basis, largely due to a strong production of renewable energy, which compensated more than enough for a drop in retail electricity prices in Italy.

EBITDA, excluding extraordinary items, came in at 18.72 billion dollars, a figure that was higher than the consensus estimate of 17.3 billion euro compiled by.

The ordinary net income for the period was 5,8 billion euros, exceeding an estimate of only 5.7 billion.

Enel has confirmed that it expects to reach its full-year 2020 expectations and will reveal its updated strategy including the 2024 2024 dividend at its Capital Markets Day on November 18.

The net financial debt was 58.2 milliards of euros at the end September. This is down from 60.2 millions in December 2023.

Stefano De Angelis, Enel's Chief Financial Officer, said that the completion of the disposition plan by the end the year will allow us to predict a ratio of net debt to EBITDA of about 2.4 in 2024. This is lower than the average for the sector.

Normalisation of Italy's gas and electricity prices after the peak of last year resulted in an annual decline of 12% in the EBITDA of the end-user market division. The core profit for the renewable business increased by 53%, and the grid business was virtually flat.

This year, the group won an auction for electricity supply under a partially-regulated framework up until March 2027. It added over 1 million new customers to its home country.

De Angelis said in a conference call with analysts that "we will try to move these new customers onto the free market, and offer them a variety of products and service."

The state-controlled group announced a plan in late 2022 to reduce its debt by focusing on six countries: Italy, Spain, United States, Brazil Chile and Colombia.

Enel's new CEO Flavio Cataneo confirmed that the company would streamline its portfolio. He also announced a more selective investment strategy in renewables, and the preference of capital expenditures in Italy. ($1 = 0,9321 euros) Reporting by Francesca Landini Editing Keith Weir

(source: Reuters)