MADRID/LONDON (Reuters) – Spain’s Iberdrola plans to invest 47 billion euros ($47 billion) in its electricity networks, renewable energy production and customer businesses in 2023-2025 with profits expected to rise, it said on Wednesday.
Iberdrola is pushing to remain one of the global renewable power leaders at a time when utilities are facing a challenging transition away from fossil fuels, accelerated by the need to cut energy dependence on Russia.
In a strategy update, Iberdrola said 57% of the investment, or 27 billion euros, would be in electricity networks, while 17 billion euros would go to renewables. Nearly half of that would be spent on offshore wind.
Iberdrola plans to deliver 52 gigawatts of new installed renewables capacity by 2025, it added.
“If we are to learn one lesson from the current crisis, it is the compelling need to deliver electrification quickly for a more secure, clean and competitive energy system,” said Executive Chairman Ignacio Galan.
“The global investment plans we have set out today will help us to bring more self-sufficiency and resilience against potential energy shocks in the countries where we operate, by reducing their dependency on oil and gas and by continuing their path to Net Zero,” he added.
Net profit should increase to between 5.2 billion and 5.4 billion euros by 2025 from an expected 4 billion to 4.2 billion euros in 2022, Iberdrola said in its strategy update.
It also aims for earnings before interest, taxes depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of 16.5 billion-17 billion euros by 2025.
Shareholders are expected to receive between 0.55 and 0.58 euros per share by 2025, after Iberdrola set a payout ratio of between 65% and 75% of earnings.
($1 = 0.9933 euros)
(Reporting by Jesus Aguado and Jessica Jones in Madrid and Nina Chestney in London; Editing by Mark Potter)
