The Diplomat
The good performance of the investments made in the United States and Brazil was one of the key elements for Iberdrola to achieve a record profit of 3,885 million euros in 2021, 8% more than in the previous year.
As the company reported yesterday, positive growth in the United States and Brazil offset the negative performance of the generation and customer business, affected by high energy prices in Spain and the United Kingdom.
The good performance of these investments, together with the new installed capacity, the greater weight of regulated network assets and financial strength, allowed Iberdrola to exceed the profit targets it had set for last year, which were 3.8 billion euros.
The group chaired by Ignacio Sánchez Galán increased investments in 2021 to a record 9,940 million euros, 3% more than in the previous year. Ninety per cent of these were earmarked for the development of new renewable capacity (44%) and smart grids (45%).
By market, more than half of the investments went to the United States (28%) and Spain (24%), with 2,736 million euros and 2,386 million euros, respectively.
Galán stressed that the acceleration of investments allows the group “to grow at a faster pace than expected”. “These results reflect the success of a sustainable model and encourage us to continue working towards a low-carbon economy”, he added.
In this way, the company accelerated the construction and commissioning of renewables, with more than 4.3 billion euros of investment for the installation of almost 3,500 megawatts (MW) ‘green’ in 2021, thus reaching 38,000 MW of capacity worldwide. Meanwhile, capacity under construction reaches 7,800 MW, of which 2,600 MW are offshore wind.
Meanwhile, the networks business showed a solid performance in all countries thanks to the regulatory frameworks in place and increased investments, despite the negative impacts of the exchange rate and Covid-19.
Meanwhile, the electricity generation and customers business was driven by the increase in installed renewable capacity.
The group’s gross operating profit (Ebitda) exceeded 12,000 million euros last year, with a 20% growth compared to 2020, driven by networks and renewable generation. With this figure, the company brings forward by one year its gross profit forecast for 2022.
In this way, Iberdrola pointed out that the good results of 2021 and the future prospects in the renewable business allow it to reaffirm its growth forecasts for 2022, when it expects to reach a profit of between 4,000 and 4,200 million euros.
