Enel Earnings Surge on Strong Renewable Energy Generation

By Mauro Orru

Enel's earnings jumped in the first quarter, driven by strong renewable generation and the optimization of supply costs that contributed to an improvement in margins on sales.

The Rome-based energy company on Thursday reported a net profit of 1.93 billion euros ($2.07 billion) for the January-through-March period compared with EUR1.03 billion a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, net profit--or net ordinary income--jumped more than 44% to EUR2.18 billion.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization grew almost 24% to EUR5.89 billion. Adjusted for one-offs, Ebitda--or ordinary Ebitda--rose nearly 12% to EUR6.09 billion.

Revenue declined to EUR19.43 billion from EUR26.41 billion due to lower prices, a decrease in quantities of electricity sold and lower generation from thermal sources.

Capital expenditure fell 10% to EUR2.59 billion, while the group's net financial debt came in at almost EUR60.70 billion compared with EUR60.16 billion at the end of 2023.

This year, Enel continues to expect net ordinary income between EUR6.6 billion and EUR6.8 billion, and ordinary Ebitda between EUR22.1 billion and EUR22.8 billion.

Write to Mauro Orru at mauro.orru@wsj.com