Grenergy shares rise over 5% after first-quarter earnings beat estimates

Investing.com -- Grenergy Renovables (BME:GREG) shares rose more than 5% on Thursday after the company reported first-quarter earnings that exceeded expectations, driven by asset sales in Chile and improved operational performance.

The renewable energy company reported EBITDA of €61.7 million for the first quarter, up 165% from a year earlier and ahead of the company-gathered consensus of €57.5 million. Net profit rose to €32.4 million, up about 420% year over year, also beating expectations of €27.5 million.

The energy segment contributed €12.6 million to EBITDA, an increase of 70% from the same period last year. 

Output rose approximately 52% year over year, supported by improved load factors and higher generation from Chilean assets such as Gran Teno.

Realized electricity prices rose 3% to €45.2 per megawatt-hour. Power purchase agreement prices declined 13% to €47.9 per megawatt-hour, while merchant prices increased 93% to €25.9 per megawatt-hour. Contracted output accounted for 88% of total production.

Development and construction EBITDA reached €55 million, driven by the disposal of assets in Chile. 

According to analysts at Barclays (LON:BARC), asset rotation was a key contributor to the earnings beat.

Grenergy’s net debt, excluding IFRS 16, stood at €726 million at the end of the quarter, up from €566 million at year-end 2024. 

Capital expenditures totaled €165 million, including €81.9 million related to the Atacama project. 

Working capital was negative €84 million, and funds from operations were negative €31.5 million, compared with negative €6 million in the first quarter of 2024.

The company completed a €27 million share buyback program during the quarter, acquiring approximately 2.4% of its outstanding shares. 

A total of 714,496 shares, or 2.44% of share capital, were canceled. Although the program had been authorized up to €40 million, Grenergy said it would not continue further repurchases.

Installed capacity rose to 891 megawatts, up slightly from 879 megawatts at the end of 2024. The company did not provide updates on its project pipeline or capital expenditure per megawatt.

Operational updates included the closing of $324 million in project financing for Gabriela, phase 4 of the Atacama development. 

Grenergy also signed an agreement with BYD (SZ:002594) to secure 3.5 gigawatt-hours of battery energy storage for phase 6 of the Oasis Atacama project. 

Quillagua 1, part of the Atacama complex, is now operating with battery storage and delivering higher efficiency levels, the company said.