Enel beats EBITDA guidance for 2022, debt declines

Italian utility group Enel SpA (BIT:ENEL) posted ordinary EBITDA of EUR 19.7 billion (USD 21.2bn) for the full-year 2022, up by 2.6% year-on-year, exceeding guidance, according to its preliminary results.

The boost in ordinary earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), projected to arrive between EUR 19 billion and EUR 19.6 billion, was driven by a solid performance of thermal generation and trading activities, the renewables division Enel Green Power, end-user markets and Enel X businesses and grids.

Non-ordinary EBITDA rose by 9.3% to EUR 18.8 million, the company said.

Revenues for the year surged by 63.9% to EUR 140.5 billion, mainly on higher average prices of energy, higher production, distribution and trading volumes and positive exchange rate effects, but also due to business disposals and stake sales.

Cash flow from operations and asset disposals helped Enel reduce some its net debt, which at the end of September 2020 stood at EUR 69.7 million. By the end of 2022, net financial debt was narrowed to a total of EUR 60.1 billion compared to EUR 51.7 billion a year earlier.

Debt reduction is one of Enel’s main goals under the 2023-2025 strategic plan, which will see the utility shed more assets and exit non-core markets to focus on Italy, Spain, Chile, Brazil, Colombia and the United States.

Enel CEO Francesco Starace said that the debt would continue to shrink “substantially” during 2023.

“This will enable us to continue to execute on our investments in renewable generation and grids in order to support the transition to increasingly sustainable energy sources and promote energy independence in the countries in which we operate,” Starace added.

(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.074)

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