LNG

Italian utility Enel Group reported a drop in first-half revenues of almost 18 percent amid falling prices and lower volumes sold, though net income increased.

Enel revenues declined to €38.73 billion in the six months from €47.09Bln, a drop of 17.8 percent from the first-half of 2023.

Enel is involved in natural gas and thermal energy markets in Italy, Spain and in South American nations such as Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Brazil and Peru.

The group’s natural gas sales amounted to 4.1 billion cubic metres in the first half of 2024, a decrease 18 percent, or 0.9 Bcm in the same period of 2023.

The net electricity generated by the Enel Group in the first half amounted to 96.74 terawatt hours (TWh), a decline of 5.3 TWh on the same period of 2023.

 Market context

“The change is mainly attributable to the market context with declining prices alongside lower energy volumes from thermal sources and a decrease in quantities of electricity sold on end-user markets,” Enel explained.

“These effects were partly offset by an increase in revenues from the sale of electricity generated by renewable sources and from the management activities of distribution networks,” stated Enel.

The utility’s ordinary gross earnings increased by 8.8 percent to €11.68Bln from €10.74Bln in the first half of 2023.

“The increase is attributable to the positive contribution of the integrated businesses, driven by the excellent performance of renewable energy, which more than offset the decrease in the margin recorded in end-user markets and thermal generation,” Enel explained.

Net income

The group’s ordinary net income surged by over 20 percent to €3.95Bln from €3.28Bln in the prior-year period.

“In the first half we achieved excellent results, driven by significant organic growth reached through the strict implementation of the pillars of our Strategic Plan,” said Enel Chief Executive Flavio Cattaneo.

“The managerial actions undertaken have already allowed us to restore sound operating cash flow generation and reduce our financial debt to around €55Bln, also taking into account the transactions currently being finalized and already announced to the market, therefore reaching one of the lowest levels of leverage in the entire sector,” Cattaneo stated. 

April 18 (LNGJ) - Flex LNG, the Norway-listed shipping and project company, has chartered an LNG carrier for 12 months to Italian energy company Enel Trade SpA. Flex said the charter would start in the second half of 2019 with an option to extend for 12 months. Flex intends to employ the 173,400 cubic metres capacity carrier “Flex Enterprise” for the charter, though has the option to nominate one of its sister ships. “This charter is in line with our strategy of adding incremental revenue as the market for LNG shipping continues to improve and provides important earnings visibility for the company,” said Jonathan Cook, Chief Executive.