Enagás obtained a net profit of 258.9 million euros in the first nine months of the year, which represents a drop of 26.7% compared to the 353.4 million euros recorded a year ago due to lower capital gains, reported the company to the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV).
However, the manager of the Spanish gas system is heading towards the upper end of the range with its annual net profit target for the year, set in a range of 310-320 million euros.
The profits of the gas system manager in the period from January to September include the net capital gain from the closing of the sale of the Morelos gas pipeline for an amount of 42.2 million euros, while the profit for the first nine months of 2022 included the adjustment of the book value of the stake in its American subsidiary Tallgrass Energy (TGE) - for an amount of 133 million euros - but higher net capital gains, after the sale of GNL Quintero - 178.9 million euros - and the entry of partners in Enagás Renovable -for 49 million euros-.
The group's gross operating result (Ebitda) until September amounted to 572.0 million euros and is also evolving as planned to reach the annual target of 770 million euros.
For its part, the company's income between January and September amounted to 672.7 million euros, with a drop of 5.9% compared to the first nine months of 2022, mainly due to the fall in regulated income, which stood at 655.6 million euros, with a reduction of 45.9 million euros compared to the same date of the previous year, due to the application of the 2021-2026 regulatory framework (-38.5 million euros) and lower audited costs, without impact on Ebitda.
Meanwhile, the result of Enagás's investee companies reached 144.4 million euros, being more positive than in 2022, taking into account that GNL Quintero contributed 11.9 million euros as of September 2022 and that said asset was sold to end of last year.
Funds from Operations (FFO) at the end of September amounted to 405.9 million euros, including the payment of taxes associated with the sales of GNL Quintero and Morelos (-71.2 million euros) and the dividends received from the investee companies for an amount of 137.5 million euros.
This amount, which is in line with the annual objective, includes the collection of the first dividend from Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) after its start-up in the amount of 42.4 million euros.
IT CUT ITS NET DEBT TO 3,406 MILLION.
The net debt at the end of the third quarter of the year of the group led by Arturo Gonzalo was reduced, compared to December 31, 2022, by 63 million euros, standing at 3,406 million euros.
The financial cost of the gross debt stood at 2.6%, in line with that of the first half of 2023. More than 80% of Enagás' debt is at a fixed rate, which allows the company to mitigate the impact of the current interest rate movements. The FFO/net debt ratio as of September 30 stood at 17.1%.
PROGRESS IN YOUR STRATEGIC PLAN.
Likewise, in these first nine months of the year, the company has advanced at a faster rate than expected in the execution of its strategic plan - which it plans to update in the first half of next year - in its three main areas: security of supply in Spain and Europe, decarbonization with hydrogen as a key vector, and control of operating and financial costs.
In the first of these axes, it closed _on September 27_ the acquisition of 10% of Hanseatic Energy Hub (HEH), a consortium that will launch a floating storage and regasification unit in Stade (Germany) in January, and a land terminal LNG that will be prepared to operate green ammonia in the future and is estimated to come into operation in 2027; as well as its agreement with Reganosa, for the creation of an energy hub in the northwest of the peninsula.
Furthermore, as part of its hydrogen strategy, in September it launched the 'call for interest' for the Hydrogen Backbone Network in Spain, an open process to learn about the needs for renewable hydrogen, ammonia, oxygen and CO2 infrastructure. It will announce its results on the II Hydrogen Day, which it plans to celebrate on January 31st.
Also last week it presented the H2Med corridor in Berlin, at an event in which the German operator OGE joined the TSOs of Portugal, France and Spain as a promoter of the project.
The H2Med corridor and the associated Spanish Hydrogen Backbone Network are making positive progress in the process to acquire qualification as Projects of Common European Interest (PCI) and have already passed a first technical cut. The final list is scheduled to be published in early 2024.
100% STORAGE SINCE AUGUST.
Regarding the gas system, it is operating in 2023 with maximum robustness and flexibility, with 100% availability, and has received natural gas from 16 different sources to contribute to the security of supply in Spain and Europe. For the first time in its history, Spain has managed to fill its underground storage to 100% since August.
Meanwhile, the average storage level of LNG tanks during the first nine months of the year was 61% and, as of September 30, 46% of the LNG stored in Europe was in the tanks of Spanish plants.
SPAIN INCREASES ITS GAS EXPORTS BY 32%.
Spain plays a key role in Europe's security of supply and has increased its total gas exports by 32% in the first nine months of the year.
For its part, industrial demand has increased by 25.4% in the third quarter to reach 40.5 terawatt hours (TWh), driven by increased consumption by the refining, chemical, pharmaceutical and cogeneration sectors.
