EDP Renováveis posts Q1 profit €65M, down 1%, cites higher debt costs
In the quarter, EDP Renováveis made gross investment of €1 billion, offset by a share capital increase of the same amount "for the support of the company's growth plans."
EDP Renováveis, the renewable energy arm of Energias de Portugal (EDP), made a profit of €65 million in the first quarter, 1% less than in the same quarter of 2022, according to company information published on Wednesday by Portugal’s Securities Markets Commission (CMVM).
The company, which is based in Madrid but quoted on the Lisbon stock exchange, attributes this result – which it describes as “in line” with the first quarter of 2022, when it had profits of €66 million – to “higher financial costs” such as the “increase in the average cost of debt to 4.6%” and “the negative impact of the valuation at fair value of non-cash financial items.”
EDP Renováveis states that these higher financial costs neutralised “the strong growth” between January and March in EBITDA (earnings before tax, interest, depreciation and amortisation), which was €448 million, up 14% on the same period in 2022 – “driven by revenue growth.”
Revenues in the quarter were up 24% on a year earlier, to €706 million, which the company says was partly due to the increase in power generated (up 11%) due to its having more production capacity, but also due to average growth in selling prices (up 8%).
As for costs, they were up 19% on the first quarter of last year, with the company highlighting the impact of €25 million in taxes in Poland and Romania and “higher personnel costs due to the 10% increase in the number of employees.”
In the quarter, EDP Renováveis made gross investment of €1 billion, offset by a share capital increase of the same amount “for the support of the company’s growth plans.”
The company’s net debt at the end of the first quarter totalled €4.8 billion, up €600 million on the same period last year, “reflecting the investment in new renewable energy projects,” according to Wednesday’s information from EDP Renováveis.
EDP Renováveis is a 74.98%-owned subsidiary of EDP that operates in the field of renewable energy.
In 2022, the company reported an annual profit of €671 million, up 2% on 2021.
