Enel posts Q1 earnings growth and reaffirms 2026 guidance

(Alliance News) - Enel Spa announced on Thursday that it closed the first quarter of 2026 with declining revenues but rising profits and margins, bolstered primarily by performance in Spain and Latin America and contributions from renewable energy operations.

The Italian energy group reported revenues of EUR20.59 billion for the first three months of the year, a 6.7% decrease compared to the EUR22.07 billion recorded in the same period of 2025.

As explained by the company, the decline was mainly driven by lower revenues in Italy, linked to reduced electricity sales volumes, lower average prices applied to end customers, and lower volumes traded on the wholesale market.

Conversely, ordinary EBITDA rose by 3.6% to EUR6.00 billion from EUR5.80 billion in the first quarter of 2025, thanks to growth recorded primarily in Spain and Latin America, which more than offset the margin compression in Italy.

The group's ordinary net income increased by 3.9% to EUR1.94 billion compared to EUR1.87 billion the previous year, benefiting from improved operating performance, contributions from stewardship activities in the renewable energy sector in Greece, South Africa, and Australia, and the containment of debt costs.

Ordinary net earnings per share stood at EUR0.203, up 6.2% from EUR0.184 in the first quarter of 2025.

Net financial debt rose to EUR57.83 billion at the end of March from EUR57.18 billion at the end of 2025, primarily due to exchange rate fluctuations. Enel specified that operating cash flows and new issuances of perpetual subordinated hybrid bonds financed investments, dividends, buybacks, and extraordinary transactions.

Capital expenditure for the quarter increased by 11% to EUR2.30 billion.

Meanwhile, the group reaffirmed its financial targets for 2026 announced in the 2026-2028 strategic plan presented in February.

The plan envisions total gross investments of approximately EUR53 billion over the three-year period, an increase of about EUR10 billion compared to the previous plan, with over EUR26 billion allocated to renewables and integrated business and over EUR26 billion to power grids.

Enel aims to add 15 GW of new renewable capacity by 2028, with over 75% coming from wind and dispatchable technologies such as battery energy storage systems.

For 2026, the group confirms guidance for ordinary EBITDA between EUR23.1 billion and EUR23.6 billion and ordinary net income between EUR7.1 billion and EUR7.3 billion.

Enel also forecasts ordinary net earnings per share between EUR0.72 and EUR0.74 in 2026, with expected growth reaching EUR0.80-0.82 by 2028.

Enel shares closed Thursday down 2.0% at EUR9.65 per share.

By Giuseppe Fabio Ciccomascolo, Alliance News senior reporter

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