First quarter results: EBITDA 128,9M€ and Net profit de 3,7M€

• Renewable generation supplied 89% of consumption
• EBITDA of €128.9M (2.35%)
• CapEx reached €47.9M (+4.4%)
• Net Profit of €3.7M, (€9.1M)
• Operating costs decreased by 1.4%

In the first quarter of the year, EBITDA stood at €128.9M (a decrease of 2.3%), following the slight decline in domestic activity (-€2.6M) as well as international activity (-€0.5M). The net profit reached €3.7M, mainly impacted by the lower financial result (-€8.4M), higher charges with CESE, the Energy Sector Extraordinary Contribution, (+€0.4M), and a reduction in taxes a (-€3.1M).

Operating costs decreased to €42.4M, down 1.4%, despite the increase in the number of employees from 724 to 759 (+4%), in line with the growth of operational activity.

Net debt reached €2,670.4M. Excluding the rate deviations effect, debt would have decreased by €59.8M, standing at €2,361.4M. The average cost of debt increased to 2.8% (compared to 2.42% in the same period last year).

Today, the General Meeting of Shareholders approved, with the majority of votes, the payment of a dividend in the amount of nine cents per share, maintaining the annual remuneration plan of 15.4 cents per share paid in two tranches.

The electricity consumption recorded a year-on-year growth of 1.2%, or 2.7% when correcting for the effects of temperature and number of working days. During this period, renewable generation supplied 89% of consumption, split between hydroelectric with 47%, wind with 31%, photovoltaics with 6%, and biomass with 5%. Generation from natural gas supplied 11% of consumption, with the balance of trade with foreign countries favouring exports. Regarding gas consumption, there was a 10%decrease in the quarter, marking the lowest consumption since 2014, driven by a contraction of 43% in the electricity production segment. In the conventional segment, there was a 6% increase in the quarter.

The European Union (EU) approved the first list of Projects of Common Interest and Projects of Mutual Interest. The list of projects includes the electricity and hydrogen interconnections between Portugal and Spain, along with the creation of an internal hydrogen infrastructure in Portugal. The EU Delegated Regulation was approved on 8 April, and lists numerous projects assessed against various criteria, which are required to implement the European strategic geographical energy infrastructure priority corridors.

In the first quarter of 2024, REN’s ESG performance was once again revised upwards by the main international agencies (CDP, Sustainalytics, and MSCI). This outcome reflects the company’s good performance with regard to innovation, emission reductions, biodiversity management, labour practices, and governance.