Spain's Endesa confirms full-year guidance after beating expectations in first quarter
Endesa's First Quarter Performance and Outlook
MADRID, May 6 (Reuters) - Spanish power utility Endesa on Wednesday confirmed its full-year profit guidance after posting a 24% rise in first-quarter net profit that beat market expectations.
Financial Results Overview
The company, owned by Italian energy giant Enel, booked a net profit of 725 million euros ($852 million) in the quarter, compared with 583 million euros a year earlier and 620 million euros expected by analysts polled by LSEG.
Segment Demand Analysis
Endesa said demand in the residential and services segments remained strong, while industrial demand has been mainly affected by geopolitical uncertainty.
Leadership and Investment Strategy
The company's new CEO, Gianni Vittorio Armani, who took over from Jose Bogas last week, said investments in electricity networks needed to be boosted to accommodate structural demand growth and to ensure system reliability in Spain, which suffered a crippling blackout just over a year ago.
Regulatory Support and Capex Needs
"To make this possible, regulatory support is essential," Armani said. "In particular, approval to increase the investment cap is critical to unlock capex required in the distribution network."
Future Guidance and Investment Plans
Looking ahead, the utility reaffirmed its guidance for 2026. It has forecast a net profit of between 2.3 billion and 2.4 billion euros and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of between 5.8 billion and 6.1 billion euros.
Endesa plans to invest 10.6 billion euros primarily in power networks through 2028 under a three-year plan announced in February.
Additional Information
($1 = 0.8511 euros)
(Reporting by Emma Pinedo and Javi West Larrañaga, editing by Andrei Khalip)
