Profits at wind energy company EDPR fall 56% due to lower capital gains

EDP Renovaveis said that its first-half profits fell by 56% because of lower capital gains than the previous year, despite higher sales due to a solid increase in power production.

EDP's Renewables division reported a net loss of 93 million euros (107.4 millions), a slight drop from the 118 million euro median forecast by LSEG analysts.

EDPR reported that it had only booked 12 million euros of capital gains in the first six months of the year, compared with 171 million euro a year earlier. This was part of a strategic plan to dispose of stakes in mature plants in order to finance new ones.

In a press release, it said that, after excluding capital gains and other items, the underlying net profit had risen by 80 million euro, reflecting "a significant improvement in profitability of the operating assets portfolio, due to increased levels of electricity production and improved operational efficiency".

The company reported that revenues grew by 18%, to 1.4 billion euro, boosted by an increase of 12% in the production of power to 21.2 Terawatt-hours. North America accounted for 60% and Europe for 27% respectively.

The EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization) of the company fell by 1% year-on-year to 948 millions euros. This was in line with expectations.

Excluding capital gains, recurring EBITDA grew 20%.

(source: Reuters)