Enel's 2022 financial statements close with revenues equal to 140,5 billion euros, up 63,9% compared to 2021 when it had reached 85,7 billion. The group approved the preliminary accounts on Thursday which highlight the beginning of the decline in debt, announced by CEO Francesco Starace in strategic plan 2023-25. The plan envisages disposals for 21 billion aimed in part at reducing the debt which has already begun to decline with a drop of around 10 billion euro from the 69,7 billion euro of the first 9 months. The figure at the end of 2022 is in fact 60,1 billion euros, which still represents an increase of 16% on 2021 but signals that the descent has started. The Enel shares they are up to 5,435 euros (+1,78%) after the publication of the accounts.
Enel budget 2022: all the numbers of the preliminary accounts
Enel's 2022 recorded revenues of 140,5 billion euros, up 63,9%. It is an important leap forward which certainly benefits from the growth in prices last year, as indicated by the note released by the electricity group, but it is also a result due to the "higher volumes of energy produced and intermediated, alle higher quantities sold, to tariff adjustments in Brazil, to the greater electricity distributed in Latin America, as well as to the positive effect of exchange rates”. Ordinary EBITDA rose to 19,7 billion euros (19,2 billion euros in 2021, +2,6%), higher than the group guidance communicated to the financial markets of 19-19,6 billion. L'Ebitda (gross operating margin), which includes the effects of non-recurring operations, amounted to 18,8 billion euros (17,2 billion euros in 2021, +9,3%).
Starace on Enel's 2022 budget: "Protecting customers from price shocks"
“The preliminary results for 2022 demonstrate the resilience of the Enel Group, despite the adverse geopolitical, energy and economic context. At the same time, we protected our end customers from the energy price shock resulting from the gas crisis,” he commented Francesco Starace, CEO of the Enel Group. “Moreover, thanks to the efficient financial management and execution of the strategic plan presented to the markets, theGroup net financial debt decreased significantly in the last quarter of the year and will continue to decrease substantially also during 2023, further strengthening our financial solidity. This will allow us to continue implementing ours investments in renewable generation and networks to support the transition towards increasingly sustainable energy sources and promote energy independence in the countries where we operate.”
In 2023, the debt-cutting transfer plan is advancing
The disposal plan announced by Enel - 21 billion - intended for debt reduction is bearing fruit. An announcement is expected soon sale of a stake in 3Sun, the Catania Gigafactory for which expansion work has begun with an investment of 600 million. There was talk of the British NextEnergy fund as a possible buyer. In December, Enel completed the sale of its entire stake in the Brazilian electricity distribution company CELG Distribuição (“Enel Goiás”), for 8,5 billion Brazilian reals (equal to approximately 1,6 billion US dollars). . The next stage could be the sale of the Cearà electricity distributor, also in Brazil.
The reduction in the presence in South America also affects Chile where Enel already finalized last December the sale of its 99,09% stake in Enel Transmisión Chile for 1,4 billion dollars with a positive impact on the group debt equal to about 1,5 billion euros.
