Iberdrola profits up 50% helped by record investments and renewables output

Iberdrola’s profits soared in the first nine months of 2024 as record investments helped power output surge in the US and the UK while the Spanish green power giant continued spending heavily on grids and offshore wind.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) rose by 22% to €13.27bn ($14.31bn) during the first nine months of 2024, driven by a 25% increase in organic network investments and a 7% rise in renewable energy production to an all-time high of 63.3TWh.

“2024 has been a very good year so far for Iberdrola. Strong operational performance has benefited our results, especially in the US and the UK, thanks to record investments,” executive chairman Ignacio Galán said.

“Our continued major investment drive is delivering new renewables projects and regulated assets, and the contribution to results of our increased offshore wind capacity underlines the reason why investment in this technology was a key pillar in our strategic plan.

“We are seizing new opportunities in the UK and US and building our pipeline in other strong markets around the world.”

With the Avangrid and Electricity North West (ENW) acquisitions (in the US and the UK respectively) progressing as planned, and major new organic investment opportunities in networks and renewables, the company will continue with its “disciplined growth strategy” to 2030 and beyond,” Galán added.

Profit boost

Galán said the results confirmed positive signs of the last few quarters had brought "strong double digit growth trend across key financial indicators including operating profit, net profit and cash flow".

Continued positivity around markets such as the US and the UK, where network tariffs are expected to remain high, led Iberdrola to boost its net profit outlook for full year to around €5.5bn, compared with €4.8bn in 2023. The figure excludes any capital gains from asset rotation.