"The energy companies that increase their profits are the gas and oil companies, not the electric ones," says Galán
The president of Iberdrola, Ignacio Galán, has defended that the electricity companies "have no extraordinary profits", as the Government accuses the sector, and has pointed out that the energy companies that are taking advantage of the current upward spiral in energy prices to increase their profits are "the gas companies and the oil companies".
In a conference with analysts to present the results of the first semester, the head of the company recalled that 63% of the energy consumed is gas and oil, while the rest is electricity.
"As far as I know, the energy companies that are increasing their profits in Europe are the gas and oil companies, not the integrated power companies," he said. Thus, the president of Iberdrola unmarked the electricity companies from the special tax that the Government wants to impose on banks and energy companies to collect some 7,000 million euros in two years.
Galán stressed that the electric companies "do not have extraordinary benefits", as the Government points out, although he considered that the gas and oil companies "is not the same case."
Regarding the sale of its own generation to end customers, it indicated that for this year it is already 100% sold, while for 2023 it reaches 80% and 60% for 2024 and 40% for 2025.
Regarding the half-year results of the group, it should be noted that it obtained a net profit of 2,075 million euros, which represents an increase of 36% compared to the same period of the previous year, driven by its international businesses.
The company highlights that this increase in its profits was recorded despite the 26% drop in the contribution from Spain, mainly affected by high energy prices, which have not been passed on to customers with previously agreed fixed prices. , which has been offset by strong growth in the United States, Brazil and the United Kingdom.
With this profit path in the middle of the year, Iberdrola reaffirmed its record profit target for this 2022 of between 4,000 and 4,200 million euros.
The gross operating result (Ebitda) grew by 18% in the first half, to 6,444 million euros, with a positive evolution in all geographies except Spain.
For its part, the group's gross investments in the semester stood at 4,741 million euros, with an increase of 5.3%, and reached 10,200 million euros in the last 12 months, having installed 3,400 megawatts (MW) of renewable capacity in that period, and with a further 7,100 MW under construction.
Of this amount, 90% has been allocated to renewables and smart grids to accelerate the energy transition in the areas where it is present.
The adjusted net financial debt of the group stood at 41,717 million euros at the end of the first half, with an increase of 14%, compared to June 2021 due to the strong investment effort of the period and the significant appreciation of currencies.
