Iberdrola which has 8% of Gamesa’s capital and supported the merger deal with Siemens sealed last year, is uncomfortable with the Siemens management in Gamesa. The merger agreement was subject to some conditions regarding the management and corporate governance of the new Gamesa, which Iberdrola is in the view that could be improved.
Cellnex Telecom has presented its results for the first quarter of 2018. Revenues amounted to € 217 million (+15%) and EBITDA was € 101 million (+20%). The comparable net result closed at € 11 million, in line with the close of the same period in 2017, thereby taking into account the effect of the higher amortisations (+30% vs. 1Q 2017) and financial costs (+51% vs. 1Q 2017) associated with the growth of the group and the consequent expansion of its geographical footprint.
Telefonica posted a 7.4% rise in net profit in the first quarter of 2018 to 837 million euros from a year earlier. The figure beat FactSet’s analysts consensus for net profit of 800 million euros. But revenues fell 7.2% to 12.19 billion euros, as currency pressures offset improvements in the group’s home market.
Santander clocked up a 10% year-on-year rise in first quarter net profit to 2.054 billion euros, beating forecasts for 2.01 billion euros in a Reuters poll. The results were driven by strong growth in its largest market, Brazil. But its operations in Mexico and Spain also boosted group performance.
Neoenergia, Iberdrola’s flagship in Brazil, has launched a 1.5 billion euros takeover bid for Eletropaulo Metropolitana Electricida de São Paulo. A few hours later, Italian energy firm Enel also lodged bid, improving the price offered by Iberdrola by 9.7% at 28 Brazilian reals per share.
Spanish property firm Colonial had a good year in 2017, gaining 36.3% year-on-year compared with a drop of 1.56% year-on-year for the office market sector in the rest of Europe, due to the fear of an increase in long-term rates.
The consortium in which Enagas has a 20% stake, along with the Italian firm Snam (60%) and the Belgian company Fluxys (20%) has won the bid to acquire Greek gas operator DESFA, in its privatisation process, for €535 million (Enagás’ contribution will be around 107 million).
Repsol is making progress with the preparation of its new strategic plan which it will unveil on June 7. It aims to earmark 2.5-3 billion euros for acquisitions, compared with the 3.82 billion which it will obtain from the sale of its stake in Gas Natural to CVC.
IAG has bought 4.61% of Norwegian Air. And according to Bloomberg, the Spanish airline could be considering making a bid for the whole company. IAG’s interest in the low cost long-distance segment (where Norwegian operates) is clear, given that it created an airline last year with these characteristics called Level.
After closing their acquisition of Abertis, ACS and Atlantia’s aim is to cut debt, and to do that it will refinance 7 billion euros via bond issuances and the sale of assets, keeping bank financing of 3 billion euros as a long-term loan.