With an investment of 4 billion euros, Acciona plans to build renewable energy facilities in the next five years which will generate a combined total capacity of about 5 gigawatts (GW).
These new allocations will be added to the portfolio of 10,117 megawatts (MW) which the Spanish group has installed and in operation, with 56% in Spain and the remaining 44% abroad. This has already made it one of the main global players in the sector.
In connection with this investment plan, Acciona has a portfolio of projects to develop which it has made public for the first time. These amount to a total of 13 GW, of which the above-mentioned 5 GW are in “advanced development phase”.
Of the total portfolio, 3.3 GW are located in Spain and, of these, 1.3 GW are at an advanced stage.
Within the framework of this “acceleration” in its renewable energy business, Acciona will bring to fruition its previously announced return to the Spanish market. Investment in this market has been marginal in recent years.
At present, the company believes the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan approved by the Government presents “investment opportunities” of which Acciona “will try to take advantage.” This will be in parallel to developments undertaken in other markets, mainly the United States, Mexico, Chile and Australia.
In 2020, Acciona’s profit will increase by over 7% in ordinary terms – this grew by 60.3% in 2019 to 352 million euros. There will be a more moderate evolution in operating cash flow (EBITDA), below 5 %, compared with a 13.2% increase in 2019. This is partly due to planned divestments in its Services division.
According to forecasts given to the market, Acciona’s dividend will see moderate sustainable growth; the dividend proposal, to be charged against 2019 results, is for an increase of 10% to 3.85€ gross per share. This will maintain the group’s current financial solvency, with the net debt/ebitda ratio remaining in line with the level at end-2019, less than 4x. This same solvency objective will be maintained over the next few years.
