Enagas' 9-month net profit rises 15% on asset sales

MADRID (Reuters) -Spanish gas grid operator Enagas on Tuesday attributed capital gains on the sale of assets for a 15% increase in net profit to 353 million euros ($348.55 million) in the first nine months of the year compared with the same period a year earlier.

Total income at Enagas fell 1% in the first nine months, while core operating profit or earnings before interest and taxes declined 16%.

The contribution from affiliates amounted to 153.9 million euros as a result of the good performance of mainly TGP, Saggas and TAP, the company said.

Madrid-based brokerage Renta 4 said the earnings result was above its expectations at EBITDA level due to lower expenses and a good performance from its units.

"Lower regulated revenues due to the current regulatory framework have been offset by higher remunerated operational expenditure (opex), and increase derived from higher electricity costs and CO2 rights," said Angel Perez, an analyst at Renta 4.

Shares in Enagas rose 0.43% to 15.25 euros at 0720 GMT, while Spain's leading blue-chip index was up 0.77%.

Enagas booked capital gains worth 249 million euros on the sale of a stake in GNL Quintero, a gas port terminal and a regasification plant in Chile, and 50 million euros on the sale of a minority stake in its renewable unit.

Enagas also booked an impairment worth 134 million euros on its U.S.-based Tallgrass Energy unit.

The grid operator said it was on track to meet its full-year net profit target range of between 380 million euros and 390 million euros.

The company said gas demand for power generation rose 80% during the nine months from the year-earlier period as a result of the subsidy granted by the government to power utilities, while the demand from households and industrial consumers fell 17%.

($1 = 1.0128 euros)

(Reporting by Jesús Aguado and Inti Landauro; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Mike Harrison)