ZCZC
BCN-44
SPAIN-ENERGY-EARNINGS
Iberdrola posts record profit on renewables boost
MADRID, Feb 20, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Spain’s electricity giant Iberdrola said
Wednesday its 2018 net profit rose 7.5 percent to 3.01 billion euros, its
best-ever result, thanks to a boost in its wind and hydro energy output.
“It is the first time the group’s earnings have exceeded three billion
euros,” the Bilbao-based group said in a statement.
Turnover rose 12.2 percent to 35.1 billion euros ($39.8 billion), it said.
Sales in the company’s renewable energy branch, meanwhile, rose 28 percent
thanks to a rise in production of wind, hydro and to a lesser extent solar
energy.
Gas and coal production dropped last year.
The production of hydroelectricity in Spain and Portugal soared 74 percent
compared to a particularly dry year in 2017.
In Brazil, where Iberdrola owns dams, demand increased.
Iberdrola CEO Ignacio Galan said the profit generated “encourages us to
continue pushing for the transition to a low carbon economy”.
“The fight against climate change is an opportunity,” he added in a
statement.
BSS/AFP/SR/1700 HRS