EDP Corporation

Goldman Sachs expects several European utility companies to post strong quarterly results, with RWE, Naturgy, Enel, and EDP positioned to potentially exceed their full-year guidance. The bank points to trading activities, flexible generation, and pumping hydro as key drivers, supported by commodity volatility, elevated prices, and solid power demand. Goldman Sachs projects RWE could deliver nine-month net profit of €1.6-1.7 billion, roughly 75% of the full-year Bloomberg consensus estimate of €2.25 billion, with earnings due on November 11. For Naturgy, the bank estimates nine-month EBITDA of €4.3-4.4 billion and net profit of approximately €1.75 billion, suggesting the company could exceed its full-year bottom-line guidance of above €2.1 billion. Enel is projected to post nine-month EBITDA of €17.8 billion and net profit of €5.7-5.8 billion, more than 75% of Goldman Sachs' full-year net profit projection of €7.47 billion, ahead of its November 12 report. For EDP, Goldman Sachs sees clear upside risk to full-year guidance, projecting third-quarter EBITDA at nearly €1.2 billion and nine-month EBITDA at €3.9 billion, with expected asset rotation gains of €200-250 million for the rest of the year making the €5.3 billion full-year EBITDA guidance look conservative; EDP reports on November 6. The bank also anticipates that certain companies may book fourth-quarter restructuring provisions to support future cost savings, which could limit potential earnings beats in 2026 but improve profits in 2027-28.

Miguel Stilwell de Andrade, CEO of Portuguese power utility EDP, said the country's electricity demand is set to grow at an average annual pace of 4.5% over the next decade, making it one of the fastest-growing power markets in Europe, driven by a surge in data centre construction projects. More than 2.6 gigawatts of data centre projects are in development in Portugal, led by Microsoft's 1.2-gigawatt Start Campus in Sines, and these large-scale plans are expected to drive 60% of the increase in power demand. According to grid operator REN, Portugal's electricity consumption rose 3.5% year-on-year to 27.2 terawatt-hours in the first half, while EU power demand grew 2% over the same period, according to the International Energy Agency. De Andrade stressed that low-cost renewable energy and a transatlantic submarine cable network are helping Portugal establish itself as an emerging large-scale data centre hub.