Endesa registered net profit of 253 million euros in the first quarter of 2017, down 26% from a year earlier, due to the impact of the “high” prices of electricity in the wholesale market. Its dividend yield is still attractive at 5.7%, while the share price has also been supported by rumours of a corporate deal.
Repsol made net profit of 689 million euros in the first quarter of 2017, up 59% from a year earlier, fuelled by plans implemented to increase the company’s resilience and flexibility against the current backdrop of low prices. Its downstream business was the main driver of its strong first quarter performance.
In 2016, Merlin Properties posted a record profit of 582.6 million euros, almost 12 times more than in 2015. Rental income corresponding to just the fourth quarter rose to 121.5 million euros from 74.9 million in the third quarter thanks to the integration of Metrovacesa’s assets from end-October.
Telefonica posted profit of 2.369 billion euros in 2016, up 3.8% from a year earlier. Last year’s figure reflected non-recurrent items, mainly a 1.290 billion euros charge in the fourth quarter related to restructuring costs. Excluding that charge, profits rose 4.8% to 4.038 billion euros year-on-year.
Spain’s seven big banks registered net profit of 10.2 billion euros in the nine months to September, up 4.4% from a year earlier. Against a backdrop of low interest rates, corporate transactions have distored the banks’ global earnings.
Telefonica’s stock price held up much better than expected after the multinational announced it will cut its dividend this year and next. The shares finally closed down 1% after falling as much as 4% in the first few hours of the session. It seems that investors have understood that, on the one hand, it is the company’s best option for reducing debt; and, on the other, that the dividend yield is still very attractive.
Jens Bastian via Macropolis | When the largest Greek banks (in terms of assets) published their second quarter results a fortnight ago, much investor attention was focused on the formation and breakdown of non-performing exposure (NPE) on their respective balance sheets. This focus is the result of regulatory authorities and investors wanting to know if the four systemic banks have started to reverse the multi-year trend of continuously rising “red loans” in their portfolios.
First half results from Inditex have once again been record-beating. The company owned by Amancio Ortega, the world’s richest man in 2016 according to Forbes, posted an 8% rise in net profit to 1.256 billion euros in the first half of its 2016-2017 fiscal year (this runs from February 1 to July 31) from a year earlier.
F. Barciela / F.G. Ljubetic |The news that a UK bank and a German lender are going to start charging clients for their deposits has raised the question of whether Spanish banks are thinking of doing the same. For the time being this deposits’ charge will generally apply to very specific segments of client business. The continued decline in margins at the Spanish banks is worrying; a consequence of the fact that interest rates on loans are increasingly lower while the remuneration costs on liabilities are maintained. In the end, the Spanish banks may not have any option but to bite the bullet…and charge for deposits.
Citi | Tecnicas Reunidas (TRE) reported second quarter 2016 EBIT of €50 million vs consensus of €41 million (+20%), driven by higher revenues. Citi analysts flag that the operating margin of 4% was in-line with the company’s guidance, with the execution progressing as planned on all key projects.