Business
Endesa S A : achieves a net profit of €1.888 billion in 2024 thanks to the normalisation of energy markets and the zero impact of extraordinary events
Endesa S A : achieves a net profit of €1.888 billion in 2024 thanks to the normalisation of energy markets and the zero impact of extraordinary
About this update from Endesa S.a.
Progress on the 2025-2027 plan objectives In terms of business development, Endesa invested around €900 million in expanding and upgrading its distribution grid , where it remains the leading operator in Spain. This investment helped consolidate service quality parameters , reducing losses and improving average outage times while supporting a 2% increase in distributed electricity to 139 TWh. The company expects to increase investments, in line with the commitments announced at the Capital Markets Day in November. These commitments are subject to the upcoming regulatory framework for grid remuneration covering the 2026-2031 period, which is expected to be defined this year. This additional investment is directly tied to enhancing supply security and addressing new connection requests. In generation, 86% of the electricity produced on the peninsula came from non-emitting technologies (renewables and nuclear) , six points more than at the end of 2023. Renewable generation grew by 25%, driven by a good hydrological year. The installed generation capacity on the peninsula increased by 200MW during the year, reaching 17,200MW. 78% of the peninsula's capacity is now emissions-free. In this regard, Endesa completed the purchase of hydroelectric assets totaling 626MW this February, a transaction announced last November. In the retail business, the aforementioned normalisation of Iberian electricity pool prices has intensified competitive pressure. However, Endesa achieved a net increase in customers during the last quarter of 2024. The company's customer base in the free market stood at 6.7 million at year-end , a 3% decline. Of the total electricity sold to free market customers-amounting to 71 TWh-80% came from emissions-free generation sources. The unit margin in the electricity market reached €55/MWh , up 5%, in line with forecasts. In the gas retail business, the unit margin returned to positive territory after the impact of extraordinary events recorded in 2023. It stood at €4/MWh , above the €3/MWh target. Total gas sales declined by 8% to 78 TWh due to lower consumption at combined cycle plants and reduced end-customer demand. José Bogas , CEO, commented on the 2024 performance: "We delivered outstanding results this year, ensuring strong cash flow and solid financial metrics. As a result, we have increased our planned dividend payout to €1.32 per share , representing a 32% increase over 2023 and 10% above our initial target. Our dividend yield now exceeds 6%. We continue to make progress on the key pillars of our 2025-2027 strategic plan. Moreover, we also reaffirm our financial capacity to expand and accelerate our energy transition investments if the regulatory environment supports it." Debt reduction Alongside the aforementioned key financial indicators, the company's debt continued its downward trajectory . Net debt stood at €9.3 billion at year-end, down 11%. This result was achieved thanks to strong cash flow and proceeds from selling a minority stake in a portfolio of solar plants ( €4.4 billion in total ), which significantly exceeded investments and dividends paid ( €3.3 billion including both items). Therefore, the net debt-to-EBITDA leverage ratio decreased to 1.8x . Gross debt also fell to €10.5 billion , a 23% reduction. Endesa's average cost of debt was 3.6% , up from 3.2% a year earlier. Lastly, the company's cost containment plan continued to yield results, reducing fixed costs by 5% to €2.1 billion for the year.