Spain’s renewable energy firm Iberdrola on track for record profits

By Alyssa McMurtry

OVIEDO, Spain (AA) - Spanish renewable energy company Iberdrola reported a 29% annual rise in net profits for the first nine months of this year on Wednesday, fueled by strong international growth.

The company’s net profits reached €3.1 billion ($3.11 billion) for the third quarter, and it maintained its full-year outlook to earn record profits of between €4 and €4.2 billion.

Europe’s largest utility company’s success came despite a 14% drop in profits in its home market of Spain.

In a statement, the company said Spain’s fiscal and regulatory measures to tackle high energy prices had dragged on the company’s earnings.

In June, Spain and Portugal enacted a price cap on natural gas, which has also brought down the price of other energy sources.

Drought was another headwind, although the company said its 13% increase in wind and solar production compensated for the drop in hydroelectricity.

Iberdrola’s strong international performance, particularly in the US and Brazil, has kept the company’s growth on track.

In the first nine months of the year, Iberdrola invested €7.6 billion, with 90% going to renewable energy and smart grid projects. The US was the company’s top investment destination, and 75% of the spending went to international markets.

“Accelerating investments in electrification will allow us to be less dependent on the volatility of oil and gas and generate more growth and more jobs, as this set of results shows,” said Iberdrola’s Executive Chairman Ignacio Galan.

Iberdrola says it now has around 400,000 employees.

The company also announced it was boosting shareholders’ dividend payments by 5.9% compared to the same period last year.