MADRID, 26 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) -

Enagás closed the first half of the year with a net profit of 176.8 million euros, which represents an increase of 486.2% compared to the 30.2 million profits in the same period of the previous year, the company reported. to the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV).

This increase in profit has been driven by the net capital gain of 42.2 million euros from the sale of its stake in Gasoducto de Morelos in Mexico to the Macquarie fund, closed last April, and by the fact that last year's accounts They included the non-recurring impact of the 'impairment' of its US investee Tallgrass Energy, amounting to 133.8 million euros.

In this way, Enagás, the manager of the Spanish gas system, confirmed that it is advancing as planned to achieve its annual goal of net profit in the range of 310-320 million euros.

Without accounting for the Tallgrass accounting adjustment recorded in the financial result for the first half of 2022 and the capital gain from the sale of Gasoducto Morelos, the variation in profit for this month of June compared to the same period in 2022 would have been a drop of 17.9 %.

And it is that the total income of the group fell by 5.8% until June, with 450.4 million euros, mainly due to the decrease in this item due to its regulated activities, which were 441.6 million euros, a 5, 9% less, due to the cut applied by the National Commission for Markets and Competition (CNMC) on their remuneration.

The group's gross operating result (Ebitda) in the first half of 2023 amounted to 372.0 million euros, with a decrease of 5.1%, although the company indicated that it is evolving as planned to reach the annual target of 770 millions of euros.

For their part, Enagás investees maintained a good performance in the first half, reaching 89.4 million euros, a figure 10% lower than that registered in the first half of 2022, which included 11.9 million euros corresponding to to the contribution of GNL Quintero, an asset that was sold in 2022.

Meanwhile, funds from operations (FFO) as of June 30 reached 247.7 million euros, including the payment of taxes associated with the sales of GNL Quintero y Morelos (-71.2 million euros) and dividends received of investee companies amounting to 108.8 million euros.

This amount, which is in line with the annual objective, includes the collection of the first dividend from TAP after its start-up for an amount of 42.4 million euros.

For its part, Enagás reduced its net debt at the end of the first half, compared to December 31, 2022, by 302 million euros, standing at 3,166 million euros.

The financial cost of the group's gross debt stood at 2.6%, slightly lower than that of the first quarter of 2023 (2.7%) and higher than the 1.6% registered in the first half of 2022.

More than 80% of the debt of the company led by Arturo Gonzalo is at a fixed rate, which allows the company to mitigate the impact of current interest rate movements. The FFO/net debt ratio as of June 30, 2023 stood at 19.2%.

During the period, Enagás continued to advance along the path of its strategic plan with the achievement of several milestones, such as the start-up of the El Musel LNG terminal in Gijón, and the assignment of its logistics services to Endesa; or the agreement reached with Reganosa through which it acquires its network of 130 kilometers of gas pipelines, and Reganosa purchases 25% of the El Musel Regasification Plant -the closing of the operation is scheduled for the second half of this year-.

In the international arena, it was also incorporated as an industrial partner and shareholder with a 10% stake in the Hanseatic Energy Hub consortium, which means the company's entry into Germany for the start-up of the future LNG terminal 'on-shore ' from Stade.

Likewise, this Tuesday closed the agreement announced on January 27 for the acquisition of an additional 4% from Axpo in Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) for 168 million euros, until reaching 20% ​​of the shareholding.

In addition, the board of directors of the American Tallgrass Energy has also approved the investment decision to advance in the conversion project of the current Trailblazer gas pipeline for the transport of CO2, the first large-scale project of its kind in the United States.

On the other hand, Enagás announced that on September 14 it will launch the 'call for interest' process to match the supply and demand of the future Hydrogen Trunk Network in Spain. Likewise, a consultation on ammonia and CO2 will also be incorporated.

In this way, the group advances in its commitment to green hydrogen with the H2Med corridor -which will link the Peninsula with France- and the Spanish Hydrogen Trunk Network itself.

In a conference with analysts, the CEO of the group, Arturo Gonzalo, highlighted that this 'call for interest' "will make it possible to advance in the identification of projects and real needs in order to have a more accurate picture of the potential supply and demand of green hydrogen In our country".

"The development of a backbone network will make it possible to meet demand in Spain first and, as the PNIEC data support, we will also be able to export to Europe with the 11 gigawatts (GW) of production set by the PNIEC in 2030, since our country will be able to produce between 1 and 1.7 million tons of hydrogen per year," he said.

Regarding the gas system, the company highlighted that it is operating in 2023 with "maximum robustness and flexibility", with 100% availability. Thus, natural gas has been received from 16 different sources to contribute to the security of supply in Spain and Europe.

In the first semester, Spain increased its total gas exports by 55% and ship refills by 67%, with Italy remaining one of the main destinations for ships. Exports to Europe through international connections rose 33% to reach 28.6 terawatt hours (TWh).

For its part, underground natural gas storage in Spain is at its all-time high in a month of July, reaching 98%.

Meanwhile, the demand for gas fell by 4.6%, due to the decrease in conventional demand and the demand for electricity generation, due to the milder temperatures last winter, energy efficiency and saving measures, and the decline in industrial consumption due to the war in Ukraine.

However, a change in trend is already being observed, and in July industrial demand is rising by 9.1% compared to the same month in 2022.