The Catalan company counterbalanced its fall in the Spanish market with benefits from international sales. Foreign market activity contributed 42% of the profit from the first quarter to Gas Natural Fenosa, in contrast to 36.6% in 2011.
The Barcelona-based energy company’s net profit growth is due to a business increase in Latin America and the synergies created after the merger of Gas Natural with Unión Fenosa.
The Catalan energy company reduced its debt to 54.4%, thanks to disinvestments. Gas Natural Fenosa ended the first nine months of the year with a net profit 0.3% lower than that in the same period in 2010. However, taking into account the effect of the disinvestments, the net profit increased by 11.6%.
The Barcelona-based energy multinational and the Catalan Government have signed a cooperative agreement. The Catalan President Artur Mas emphasised that the Catalan multinational “is rising to what the country needs” in the current economic context.
Barcelona-based Gas Natural Fenosa enlarges its capital with 515 million euros invested by the multinational North-African company, Société Nationale (Sonatrach).
The Catalan firms have their headquarters in Barcelona. Gas Natural Fenosa is Spain’s sixth largest company and Criteria Caixa the seventh according to the magazine. In the ‘Forbes’ Global 2,000 List, which ranks the 2,000 world’s largest companies, Gas Natural occupies 269th place and Criteria Caixa 322nd.
The net profit for last year illustrates a 0.5% increase in relation to the 2009. The Catalan multinational’s activities in Latin America grew by 30.4%. The energy giant is confident it will reach an agreement with the Algerian company Sonatrach on a pending issue on natural gas price adjustments.
Gas heater sales have increased by 200% reaching record figures. The new smoking ban has increased the number of bars and restaurants interested in out-door heaters.
González will contribute to consolidating Gas Natural Fenosa’s international presence, mainly in South America. With this move, the Catalan energy company will gain a figure of international prestige with a large list of contacts. González was Prime Minister of Spain from 1982 to 1996. He leads the Expert Group on the future of Europe and his name was shortlisted to become the first President of the EU.
Gas Natural Fenosa made 4,000 million euros more than in 2009, with a profit of 1,117 million euros.
The new subsidiary company of Gas Natural Fenosa, Gas Natural Fenosa Renovables, has been created for the development of renewable energies. The new company puts together all the green energy assets of the group. It will jointly compete with Alstom Wind in the Aeolian Competition of Catalonia.
GDF Suez announces the selling of its 5.01% share in the Catalan energy company Gas Natural Fenosa. The share represents some 46,176,000 stocks that are worth some 560 million euros at yesterday’s price (12.140 euros).
Catalonia is the territory with the largest consumption of gas within the Spanish state, with 19% of the total