“The ACCIONA model, specialized in non-emitting energies, but also in networks, in regenerative infrastructures, in new water, in low-emission transport or in urban environments adapted to the new social and economic reality, is more necessary than ever,” José Manuel Entrecanales, president and CEO of ACCIONA, stated today during the General Shareholders’ Meeting, held at the company’s new headquarters in Madrid. In his speech, he took stock of the last twenty years of ACCIONA’s history – which coincide with his arrival to the Presidency – “a period in which we have multiplied our stock market value almost threefold, in addition to multiplying EBITDA almost fourfold and two and a half times the net profit.”
For the president of ACCIONA, “despite an increasingly volatile environment full of serious unforeseen events,” the company has achieved very notable objectives at this stage, including carrying out the IPO of ACCIONA Energía in 2021, achieving a record level in the infrastructure portfolio, become the second non-Chinese manufacturer of wind turbines, produce desalinated water at an affordable cost for human consumption and agricultural irrigation, build electric motorcycles and cars at affordable prices, manage the savings of more than 50,000 customers , etc.
In short, stated José Manuel Entrecanales, “in today’s ACCIONA you can see a lot of the technical excellence, the innovative spirit, the creativity and the rigor of our predecessors, who laid the foundations for what our company is today.” “When we took over the family business project in 2004, we tried to deepen the values we had received, updating them to what we consider the greatest challenge and, simultaneously, one of the greatest business opportunities of our time: sustainability,” he continued.
In this regard, he recalled that ACCIONA’s turnover has grown by 320% since 2004 while the company’s emissions have been reduced by 83% in the same period. “This is the practical demonstration of the basic hypothesis that inspires our strategy as a company; “It is perfectly possible to decouple economic growth from emissions growth,” he stated.
Climate IMPACT
In his speech, the president of ACCIONA dedicated a notable chapter to climate change, in which he reviewed the historical milestones of humanity in its fight for decarbonization. “Unfortunately, the Kyoto protocol and subsequent agreements have had little success and today, twenty years later, we find CO2 concentration figures in the atmosphere above 425 parts per million, about 15% higher than in 2004, and levels of unprecedented global warming, of around 1.5ºC.”
However, the president of ACCIONA highlighted the expected reduction in fossil fuel consumption as positive. According to José Manuel Entrecanales “in the next decade we will see peak oil consumption and a progressive but rapid decline in the following years.” “With this, we will see global emissions decline steadily,” he added.
For the president of ACCIONA, the Iberian Peninsula is “one of the global paradigmatic cases in replacing fossil fuels in the production of electrical energy.” “Surely there is no almost energy island in the world the size of the Iberian Peninsula with such low penetration of fossils in the electricity generation matrix: 13% in the first five months of 2024,” he stated. In his opinion “it is possible to manage the electrical system that supplies one of the top fifteen economies in the world, with more than 60 million inhabitants, with only 13% of emitting fossil fuels and 67% of renewables.” The rest is mainly nuclear energy.
But, José Manuel Entrecanales warned that “in this new model of mostly renewable electricity system, regulatory adjustments are essential to avoid the price distortions that inevitably produce the hourly or climatological concentration typical of solar or wind energy and that discourage investment. both in Spain and in other countries that see our example as a model.”
BUSINESS ACHIEVEMENTS
In his speech before the General Meeting, José Manuel Entrecanales identified the great milestones of fiscal year 2023: the historical record in contracting and infrastructure portfolio; the record in new installed megawatts (1.7GW) and a radical change in the economic-financial trend of Nordex.
The president of ACCIONA stressed that “in Infrastructure from a human point of view, it was a sad year due to the death of our colleague Luis Castilla, who led the division until it marked its record year in portfolio (€34,000 million), in contracting (€ 9,400 million) and in sales (€7,000 million), with a slight increase in operating margins and, in general, a good performance of the three main strategic lines of the area: Construction, Water and Concessions. José Manuel Entrecanales highlighted to the shareholders the completion of some important Infrastructure projects, such as the Follo Line tunnels (Norway), the Quito metro (Ecuador) and the Site C dam (Canada).
In Energy, he highlighted having reached 13.5GW of renewable capacity installed globally, “consolidating key markets such as Australia and the US and opening new ones such as the Dominican Republic or Peru and resuming investment in countries such as Canada, India or Croatia.” In his speech he acknowledged that in 2023 there was “high volatility in energy prices and relevant evacuation limitations due to lack of network, trends that will continue in 2024, although with a better perspective of future prices for a few weeks.” “I am also confident that we will maintain the investment pace this year, reaching around 1.7GW of additional installed capacity”; he pointed out.
He also highlighted that Bestinver funds “managed to close their best year of profitability in the last decade, consolidating their historical position as the best Spanish independent manager.” In addition, he referred to the Mobility area, in which Silence maintains a share of the European electric motorcycle market close to 15% and 25% in Spain, and announced that the company is “about to complete the development and launch of our interchangeable battery city car.”
The president of ACCIONA also highlighted the change in trend at Nordex, “establishing itself as the second largest manufacturer of wind turbines in the world, excluding the main Chinese manufacturers.”
“As a consequence, among others, of the increase in our global market share and the historical hiring record, we have achieved operating benefits that predict good results in future years,” stated José Manuel Entrecanales in his balance sheet for the year. In his opinion, ACCIONA “is a solid, efficient company, very well positioned and with excellent future prospects.”
José Manuel Entrecanales highlighted ACCIONA’s contribution to the creation of wealth for society as a whole, the so-called social cash-flow, which in 2023 was €19,407 million (+59%), distributed mainly in payments to suppliers worth €12,453 million, €2,056 million in tax contributions and €1,943 million in salaries and wages.
The General Meeting of Shareholders of ACCIONA approved, among other matters, the annual accounts for 2023 and the Sustainability Report for the year, as well as the distribution of a gross dividend of €4.85 per share, which will be paid on July 4 of 2024.
