Spanish utility Iberdrola has reported a net profit of €2.76bn for the first quarter of 2024, a surge of 86% compared with €1.5bn a year ago.

The surge was primarily due to the sale of stake in power plants in Mexico in February, which contributed €1.16bn to the profits, and a €238m boost from the recovery of the UK tariff deficit.

Despite these one-off items, the net profit still exhibited 28% growth, the company said.

However, Iberdrola's revenues for the quarter declined 18% to €12.6bn from €15.4bn a year earlier.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) stood at €5.85bn, a surge of 44.1% from the previous year's €4.06bn.

Iberdrola said its gross investments for the quarter totalled nearly €2.4bn, with the networks business receiving €1.21bn and the renewables sector €995m.

During the quarter, the total net power generation was 40,904 gigawatt-hours (GWh), a 10% decrease from the 45,405GWh generated in the year-ago period.

Similarly, installed capacity decreased by 10.7% to 54,578MW from 61,089MW.

However, the company’s hydroelectric plants in Spain increased renewable energy generation by 41.9%, producing 6,905GWh, up from last year’s 4,868GWh.

Renewable energy’s share in Spain rose by 19.4% from 8,785GWh to 10,489GWh.

In the US, Iberdrola's installed solar power capacity increased by 38.5%, reaching 733MW, from 529MW in the previous year. 

Iberdrola executive chairman Ignacio Galán said: “The first quarter has seen strong operating performance in all markets, with greater contribution from our increased networks asset base and improved renewables production.

“We have started positively in the delivery of our strategic plan to 2026. Our record investment levels in the first quarter will drive a total spend of €12bn this year. The good start to the year has allowed us to increase our guidance for 2024, with net profit now expected to grow at a high-single-digit rate.”