Iberdrola Renovables first-half profit up fourfold

Reuters
Published: July 23, 2008

MADRID: The world's largest onshore wind farm owner, Iberdrola Renovables , posted first-half net profit up more than fourfold on Wednesday thanks to the incorporation of wind energy assets from Scottish Power.
Net profit was 194.2 million euros (153 million pounds) on earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of 587.4 million euros at the renewable energy arm of Spain's biggest power company Iberdrola .
Renovables, which listed on the Spanish stock exchange in December, reiterated guidance of net profit for the full year of around 400 million euros and EBITDA of around 1.3 billion.
Renovables said in June it expected net profit to reach 1 billion euros in 2012 as it invests 18.8 billion euros from 2008 to 2012.
The company forecast that its gearing, which gauges how much a firm's activities are funded by equity versus debt, would remain below 50 percent over the five-year period, despite the hefty investment programme.

Renovables said on Wednesday net debt stood at 1.95 billion euros at the end of the first half, up from 803.2 at the end of 2007.
(Reporting by Sonya Dowsett; Editing by David Cowell)