EDP's recurring profit drops 9% after storms in Portugal, tops estimates

LISBON, May 6 (Reuters) - Portugal's largest utility EDP EDP.LS posted on Wednesday a 9% drop in first-quarter recurring net profit, weighed down by severe storms in January and February, but still beat analysts' forecasts on stronger earnings from its renewables unit.

Recurring net profit was 399 million euros ($469 million), while the average forecast of analysts polled by LSEG was 364 million euros.

Its subsidiary EDP Renewables EDPR.LS, the world's fourth-largest wind power producer, said earlier on Wednesday that its recurring net profit rose 9% to 71 million euros. EDPR also raised its 2026 underlying recurring EBITDA guidance by 5% to around 2.2 billion euros.

EDP CEO Miguel Stilwell de Andrade said that although the Iberian electricity distribution business had improved, "quarterly results were hit by storms", which caused damage, raised system expenses to stabilise the grid, and nearly halved power prices from a year earlier.

Recurring consolidated EBITDA fell 3% year‑on‑year to 1.4 billion euros, beating analysts' consensus of 1.33 billion euros.

"One thing that is very positive is that EDP ended the quarter with reservoirs in Portugal close to full, so we feel very confident and comfortable about the outlook for the year," Stilwell de Andrade told Reuters.

($1 = 0.8503 euros)