The Q418 results have been a negative catalyst for Spanish banks and almost all of them (with the notable exception of BBVA) have seen how the stock market advances accumulated over the course of the year have vanished to the point of returning negative.The recurrent tendencies of incomes have remained moderately positive, as happened in 2018, but, in opinion of Santander Research, net financial margins remain vulnerable.
The Spanish gas system operator, Enagas, is exploring its options of buying shares in the US listed company Tallgrass Energy. According to various sources in the sector, the public company, whose main shareholder is the state through SEPI, has been working discreetly on this operation since last November. In any case, the process is at a preliminary stage, and there are others interested in the US company.
Alex Fusté (Andbank) | There is a notable difference between US and European banks: the stock market pays 35% less for European banks. This claim is confirmed by the price/book value ratio, whose average for the 10 largest banks in the US sector is 1.24, while in Europe it falls to 0.8%. In the case of the two largest Spanish banks, Banco Santander and BBVA, the market price is even lower than the average, given that they show ratios of 0.8 and o.7 respectively.
IAG has decided that any non-EU investor which buys shares from today onwards will have their voting rights suspended and will have to sell them within 10 days. If they do not, IAG itself will buy these shares for repayment at the lowest price.
The project, in which the Spanish engineering company Sener is also participating, forms part of the bid that Cobra, the subsidiary of the group chaired by Florentino Perez is making for investment in constructing new installations for the generation of renewable energy.
Spanish Banco Santander, the euro zone’s biggest bank by market value, reported on Wednesday an attributable profit for 2018 of € 7,810 million-up 18 %. In the fourth quarter alone, attributable profit was up 34% to €2,068 million, compared to Q4 2017.
Telefonica reached a non-binding agreement with Vodafone, which expands the current deal on sharing networks in the UK. The objective is to extend the duration and to include 5G. Both operators also want to modernize their fibre optic networks. The agreement depends on concluding the legally binding terms and securing the necessary regulatory approvals, which is expected to happen during 2019.
New York state (US) has awarded two contracts for the construction of a wind farm and a solar power plants to Avangrid Renewables, the US subsidiary of Iberdrola.
The operator may have opted for dividing its assets in the region to facilitate their sale. Specifically, America Movil would be interested in the subsidiaries in El Salvador and Guatemala, and both Millicom and AT&T in the rest (Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Panama).
Caixabank, Telefónica, El Corte Inglés or Iberdrola are some of the companies which are best prepared to confront a year which will serve as a point of inflection for the economy facing the uncertainties, both national and international, which will end up damaging economic growth, according to the latest report of the consultancy Advice Strategic Consultants.