EDP Renováveis Q1 profit rises 36% to €70 million

EDP Renováveis increased first-quarter net profit by 36% to €70 million, helped by higher capacity in the US and lower operating costs, a result that matters for investors tracking the performance of one of Europe’s largest renewable energy groups. The company said the quarter was also hit by the dollar’s move against the euro.

Recurring EBITDA rose 2% year on year to €489 million, or 10% excluding currency effects. On a recurring basis, profit increased 9% to €71 million. Electricity generation from its wind and solar parks rose by 0.4 TWh in the first three months of the year, but electricity sales fell 5% to €591 million as the average selling price dropped 9% to €52/MWh. Total revenue declined 7% to €711 million.

On costs, EDP Renováveis reported an 11% reduction in operating expenses, which it said reflected “the implementation of several efficiency initiatives”. Financial results fell 10% to €113 million, supported by a lower average cost of debt, a 7% year-on-year decline in average net debt and lower capitalised interest. Net debt stood at €8.4 billion at the end of the period.

Over the last 12 months, the company’s installed capacity increased by 1.2 GW to 20.5 GW, after adding 2 GW of gross capacity and recording asset rotation transactions of -0.9 GW. The increase was driven mainly by 1 GW added in the US, alongside 124 MW in South America and 120 MW in Asia-Pacific. EDP Renováveis had 1.56 GW under construction, mostly in the US and Europe.

Total investment almost halved to €324 million from €610 million a year earlier, with declines of 49% in the US, 41% in Asia-Pacific and 27% in Europe. The shares opened down 0.28% at €14.16.

EDPR secures $200 million refund in the US through partners’ investment in oil and gas

EDP Renováveis insists it will not invest in either gas or oil, despite the US administration agreeing to refund the amount corresponding to two cancelled offshore wind projects, provided the money is reinvested in ‘conventional’ energy sources, such as fossil fuels. The Portuguese company states that it will receive the amounts due, but that it will be the partners in the special purpose vehicle who invest in fossil fuel technologies.

On 27 April, EDP announced, via a statement published on the website of the CMVM, the Portuguese market regulator, that the offshore wind energy joint venture owned in equal parts by EDPR and Engie, together with their respective partners, had reached an agreement to “resolve any imminent disputes” with the US Department of the Interior regarding the offshore wind concessions.

“The agreement provides for the reimbursement of sums previously paid for the acquisition of the aforementioned concessions, subject to the reinvestment of equivalent sums in other energy projects in the United States of America (USA), in line with the priorities of the current US Administration”, the statement read. The amount of the reimbursement due to EDP Renováveis was recorded at $200 million, “in line with the current book value” of the concessions.

In response to ECO/Capital Verde, following the presentation of EDP Renováveis’ first-quarter results, the group’s CEO, Miguel Stilwell d’Andrade, has given assurances that “EDP Renováveis will not invest in either gas or oil”. This is because the company has partners in New York and California who “can and will make those investments”. “For all intents and purposes, that’s how it stands”, he concludes.

The CEO explains that, under the agreement, the company responsible for investing the funds returned from the concessions is the special purpose vehicle. The projects are run by Ocean Winds, which, in New York State, has Blackrock as a partner (a joint venture split equally between the two). In the case of California, the partner is the Canadian firm CPP Investments, an ally that also holds a 50% stake in this partnership. “All they need to do is invest – and they do invest in gas and oil – but all they need to do is invest and the companies get the money back. We don’t need to be the ones investing directly”, he noted.

At stake are the Bluepoint Wind projects, which were to be built off the coast of New Jersey and New York following a 2022 auction, as well as the Golden State Wind project, a project resulting from the win in the first auction launched in California, also in 2022. There remains a single offshore wind project promoted by Ocean Winds in the United States: Southcoast Wind.

The Southcoast Wind project “remains on hold”, whilst discussions with the Trump administration continue in parallel. “This has been quite constructive, and we continue to explore what the next step for the project should be”, says the manager, noting that this project is the most advanced in terms of licensing and readiness to move forward. “Obviously, this now depends on the discussions and dialogue we will have with the administration”, he concludes.

Originally published at Eco.pt