Repsol made a record profit of 2,499 million euros in 2021thus closing the crisis due to the pandemic in 2020 and returning to pre-Covid levels, driven by its integrated business model and the rise of raw materialsreported the company.
The net profit achieved last year by the group chaired by Antonio Brufau thus leaves behind the ‘red numbers’ of the previous two years, when it was impacted by the adjustments made to lay the foundations for the new strategy to be a carbon neutral company in 2050 -in 2019- and by covid-19 -in 2020-, and exceeds the 2,341 million euros earned in 2018, which were its highest earnings in the last decade.
Repsol’s adjusted net income, which measures business performance, reached 2,454 million euros in 2021, compared to the 600 million euros of the previous year, also exceeding the 2,042 million obtained in 2019, the last year before the covid-19 crisis. In addition, he highlighted the performance of the energy company in the last part of the year, with an adjusted net result of 872 million euros in the last quarter.
In this way, Repsol closes the first year of its 2021-2025 strategic plan, launched in November 2020 in the midst of covid-19, reaching pre-pandemic levelsboth in results and in the generation of cash from the businesses, which has allowed a significant reduction in net debt and the promotion of its commitment to renewables.
The CEO of the group, Josu Jon Imaz, highlighted that these results “reveal the fulfillment and effectiveness of the axes of our 2021-2025 Strategic Plan in its first year of validity”, further reinforcing “a solid financial position accompanied by our commitment to increase shareholder remunerationthe commitment to industry as a vehicle for energy transition and our progress in the ambition of being a carbon neutral company in 2050″.
The group’s operating cash generation reached 5,453 million euros, 70% higher than the previous year, driven by gross operating profit (Ebitda) that increased significantly in all businesses to 8,170 million of euros.
Free cash flow increased by 43%, to 2,839 million euros, thanks to the performance of the Exploration and Production (‘upstream’) business.
Reduce your debt
Talking about the debt, Repsol reduced it by more than 1,000 million euros throughout the past year -15% compared to 2020- standing at the end of 2021 at 5,762 million euros. Thus, the group’s leverage level (net debt/capital employed) stands at 20%, improving the target set in its strategic plan.
Liquidity at the end of the year amounted to 10,606 million euros, enough to cover 2.95 times the maturities of short-term debt.
This solid financial position, together with the good performance and the improvement in the price environment for raw materials, have allowed Repsol to improve its shareholder remuneration with a proposal to increase the cash dividend by 5%, to 0.63 euros per share this year, which will be submitted for approval by the General Shareholders’ Meeting, together with a reduction in share capital of 75 million shares, equivalent to 4.91%.