Cepsa once again becomes the company most affected by the Government’s extraordinary tax on energy companies, which has led it to lose 233 million euros, according to the information that the company presented to the market today.
Without this fiscal impact, which was 323 million euros, and some inventory adjustments, the company’s net result would have been a profit of 278 million euros. In this case, the greatest weight in the result is derived from the sale of the Exploration and Production assets in Abu Dhabi. This operation is part of the Positive Motion strategy, with which Cepsa seeks to make profitable the exit of its businesses linked to fossil fuels to advance in investments in renewable energy and shift its portfolio towards a profile with greater weight of the most sustainable businesses.
Regarding the evolution of the business, the adjusted gross operating result (clean CCS EBITDA) for 2023 was 1,402 million euros for the year as a whole and 237 million euros, “a figure mainly due to the fact that the Energy was pressured by significantly lower refining margins during the period,” the company explains.
The company’s cash conversion capacity was reflected in an operating cash flow in 2023 of 1,126 million euros compared to 1,549 million in 2022.” It should be noted that this amount reflects the payment of the extraordinary tax. “Isolating this effect, the energy company would have obtained a cash flow similar to that of 2022, despite having sold its assets in Abu Dhabi,” they explain.
“Our financial results during the year reflect the strategic repositioning of our global portfolio towards more sustainable areas with the sale of our Exploration and Production portfolio in Abu Dhabi, and were also negatively affected by a poorly designed extraordinary tax that taxes income and not the profits of energy companies. However, Cepsa’s robust financial policy provides a solid foundation to finance our transformation and continue to build on the significant progress made to date,” said Maarten Wetselaar, the company’s CEO in the published information.
Investments remained practically stable, reaching 732 million euros, compared to 743 million euros in 2022, with 289 million euros dedicated to sustainable investments, which represents an increase of more than 56% compared to 2022.
The net debt in 2023 was 2,291 million euros and liquidity stood at 4,359 million euros at the end of the period, 8% more than in 2022 when it stood at 4,023 million.
By business areas, exploration and production is the one that has suffered the greatest variation, since after the exit of the Abu Dhabi assets it has fallen by 74%, to 493 million, compared to the 1,868 million that had been registered last year. last year.
The chemical division closed 2023 with a gross profit of 223 million euros, 42% less than the previous year. A decrease due to the reduction in volumes sold, especially in the Phenol/Acetone segment.
In Energy, the adjusted gross operating result for 2023, of 830 million euros, was very similar to that of 2022 (828 million), since the refining margins of 10 dollars per barrel were 4% higher than the margins recorded the year previous and the utilization rate of the energy parks remained high, at 90%.
Throughout 2023, Cepsa strengthened its biofuels portfolio with multiple agreements to supply 2G biofuels to maritime and aviation customers. Among its new SAF alliances, it signed an agreement with Air Europa to supply 14.4 tons of SAF to the airline for one year to cover the first monthly Madrid-Havana flight.
It also successfully carried out tests of second generation biofuels on passenger ships and freight trains, the supply of 2G biofuels in the port of Barcelona and the company has started the supply of 100% renewable diesel (HVO) to professional clients at its Stations. of service.
The company has made a strong commitment to developing the production of biomethane from agricultural and livestock waste, after reaching an agreement with Kira Ventures to build up to 15 biomethane plants in Spain during this decade. Among other agreements related to green hydrogen, Cepsa has reached an agreement to supply green ammonia to the ACE terminal in the port of Rotterdam for conversion to green hydrogen intended for multiple sectors in northern Europe or its direct use in maritime transport.
It also signed an agreement with GETEC, one of the leading European providers of energy services for industry and real estate, with regional platforms in Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Italy, to supply green hydrogen and its derivatives to GETEC’s industrial customers. .
