Consolidated EBITDA for the second quarter of 2026 amounted to €27 million, up 16% on the same period in 2025, when the result included €10 million from Energy Saving Certificates (CAEs).

Speciality pulps: a strategic commitment

Within the Pulp business, the company also made further progress as a producer of speciality pulps that substitute long-fibre pulp, including its new fluff pulp production line for the hygiene and incontinence products market, which is currently undergoing customer qualification.

These speciality pulps, which generate an average additional margin of €36 per tonne compared with standard pulp, accounted for 34% of sales in 2026, up from 30% in 2025. The company’s objective is for this figure to exceed 62% by 2028, further strengthening Ence’s position as the most competitive producer of long-fibre pulp substitutes.

Lower cash cost

In line with the company’s focus on cost reduction, cash cost (production cost) in the Pulp business fell to €455 per tonne in the second quarter of 2026, €67 per tonne lower than in the previous quarter. This improvement reflects Ence’s continued focus on implementing its Efficiency and Competitiveness Plan.

Moeve selects Magnon for a strategic project at its Huelva refinery

The renewable industrial heat business continued to accelerate its growth during the second quarter, with a new project comprising two boilers entering into operation. The company expects to end 2026 with five projects in operation, compared with one at the end of 2025.

In addition, Moeve has selected Magnon Servicios Energéticos, Ence’s subsidiary, as its partner to develop a thermal energy plant at its Huelva refinery. The two companies are currently in the final stage of contractual negotiations. The large-scale project is expected to generate more than 350 GWhth of thermal energy and has been designated a Strategic Project by the Regional Government of Andalusia.

Progress in biomethane

In biomethane, the company has built a portfolio of 41 projects with a potential production capacity of up to 4 TWh, compared with its target of 1 TWh by 2030. Of these, 28 projects are currently in the engineering and permitting phase. The company expects to obtain its first Integrated Environmental Authorisation (IEA) during the second half of 2026.

La entrada Ence returns to profit in the second quarter of 2026, supported by the recovery in the pulp cycle and lower costs se publicó primero en Ence.

Ence’s biofactory in Navia has completed the implementation and commissioning of two industrial projects aimed at improving its competitiveness. Both initiatives, which have involved a combined investment of 48 million euros, are now fully operational and mark a milestone for the company.

Firstly, the plant has completed the replacement of one of the lines in its timber processing facility with a new, higher-capacity system. The installation incorporates two debarkers and a chipper, enabling the processing of timber up to five metres in length and the handling of all ‘nitens’ eucalyptus with bark intact, thereby improving production capacity.

This technical improvement increases the availability of the company’s own bark for use as biofuel in the biomass boiler. In this way, Navia reduces its reliance on external biomass, optimises the use of process by-products and strengthens its circular economy model.

Boosting energy efficiency

At the same time, Ence has improved the energy efficiency of its pulp manufacturing process and has replaced the use of fossil fuels in its lime kilns, a critical process that is highly energy-intensive. The investment has enabled the commissioning of a new biomass preparation plant — covering the stages of reception, screening, storage, drying, crushing and dosing — as well as the installation of new burners adapted for the use of pulverised biomass.

The economic impact of this transformation plan translates into a direct improvement in the competitiveness of the Asturian biofactory. Of the total investment (48 million euros), 13 million is being funded through the energy efficiency scheme run by the Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving (IDAE).

Work carried out at the Navia biofactory

Download the project dossier

La entrada Ence completes the modernisation of its timber processing facilities and energy efficiency improvements in Navia following an investment of 48 million euros se publicó primero en Ence.

Regatex, a pilot plant for textile fiber recovery in As Pontes

Ence and Sharetex signed their collaboration agreement in 2024 as part of the Regatex initiative, a pilot plant for textile fiber recovery in As Pontes (A Coruña). As a result of this partnership, they have, for the first time, produced recycled cellulose from polycotton, promoting the circular economy. In addition, they have successfully conducted the first textile recycling tests using an innovative technology that does not require high pressure or temperature, nor does it use toxic solvents.

La entrada Ence and ShareTex Begin Initial Testing of the ATENEA Innovation Project to Promote Textile Recycling in Spain se publicó primero en Ence.

Through this call for proposals, Ence once again demonstrates its commitment to projects that have a positive impact on the region by promoting social inclusion, environmental restoration and conservation, education and culture, entrepreneurship and innovation, and sports in the area.

Application Submission and Information Channels

As in previous years, applications will be submitted via the website www.plansocialence.es, where the call for proposals’ guidelines can also be viewed. Additionally, an email address (plansocialpontevedra@ence.es) and a phone number (627 826 069) will be made available to answer any questions related to the Plan.

To facilitate the application process, the web platform will feature an explanatory video and a detailed guide that will address the main questions that may arise while uploading the information required to complete the application. In this way, Ence reinforces its commitment to the accessibility and transparency of the process, ensuring that both individuals and organizations can submit their projects clearly and easily.

Applications must fall within the established areas of focus and adhere to the maximum budgets allocated:

La entrada Ence Opens the Seventh Call for Grants Under the Pontevedra Social Plan se publicó primero en Ence.

EthiFinance annually assesses the sustainability performance of more than 2,400 European companies, analysing environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria through a double materiality approach and sector-specific methodologies.

The agency’s assessment evaluates Ence’s performance across four key pillars: governance, environment, social – own workforce, and social – external stakeholders.

Relationship with communities

In the area of governance, EthiFinance highlights the strength of Ence’s corporate governance frameworks, as well as its business conduct and cybersecurity policies, supported by robust control and oversight systems. The company maintains the same positive assessment achieved in this area the previous year.

Within the social pillar related to its own workforce, Ence improved its score, achieving an Outstanding rating (9/10). The agency particularly recognises working conditions, the high level of collective bargaining coverage, and the strong health and safety culture embedded across the organisation.

From an environmental perspective, EthiFinance values the company’s actions in decarbonisation, supported by environmental management system certifications and strong performance in circularity.

Meanwhile, the social area related to external stakeholders is the pillar showing the greatest improvement compared with the previous year. The agency particularly acknowledges the maintenance of solid and stable due diligence policies and processes throughout the value chain, as well as responsible practices that strengthen the company’s relationship with the communities where it operates.

Within the Governance area, EthiFinance once again highlights the strong performance of Ence’s Compliance and Cybersecurity functions, both achieving a score of 10/10, the same rating obtained last year.

La entrada EthiFinance renews Ence’s “Excellent” ESG rating for the second consecutive year se publicó primero en Ence.

Safety and Operational Efficiency
Specifically, the company has achieved the two targets defined in the program. In terms of workplace safety, Ence has achieved an accident frequency rate significantly below the industry average in Spain, exceeding the improvement target set for 2025. In the environmental sphere, it has reduced the average number of odor minutes at its biorefineries compared to the baseline period, far exceeding the set target.

Achieving these targets reinforces the strength of Ence’s strategy in these areas, which is fully integrated into its business model and focused on continuous improvement in key areas such as safety and operational efficiency, in line with the highest international standards.

La entrada Ence Meets the Sustainability Targets of Its €200 Million Commercial Paper Program Registered on the MARF se publicó primero en Ence.

Ence is Spain’s largest forest manager, a European leader in the production of specialty cellulosic products, and the largest generator of renewable energy from agricultural, forestry, and livestock biomass.

Thus, the company plays a strategic role in promoting energy self-sufficiency by transforming local biomass and forestry, agricultural, and livestock residues into electricity, renewable heat to decarbonize industry, biomethane, and biofertilizers, and, in the future, renewable aviation fuels.

In accepting this award, Ignacio Colmenares acknowledged the driving force behind this strategy, Juan Luis Arregui, honorary president of Ence, and the company’s team, whose talent and commitment have made Ence a leader in rural development.

The president of Ence received the award from H.R.H. Infanta Elena.

La entrada Ignacio Colmenares, President and CEO of Ence, Receives the 2026 SICampo Award for His Commitment to Rural Development se publicó primero en Ence.

By the end of the first quarter, the group’s operations had returned to normal, and the company continues to pursue its cost reduction targets announced for the Pulp business for 2026 and 2027.

With regard to consolidated EBITDA in the first quarter, it stood at just over €1 million, impacted by these extraordinary effects, compared with €13 million in the fourth quarter of 2025.

Increase in pulp prices
The company is now well positioned to capitalise on rising pulp prices. After closing 2025 with a historically low average price of $1,086/t (gross and before discounts), it is worth noting that a new increase has recently been announced to $1,430/t (gross and before discounts), to be implemented in May.

In addition, in Europe, potential difficulties in importing paper and pulp from Asia, the Middle East and Latin America, due to disruptions in logistics routes, are creating greater opportunities for price increases for European producers such as Ence.

Middle East conflict: opportunities
With regard to the Middle East conflict, it should be noted that the new context opens up opportunities for the company. In the Pulp business, it strengthens its position as a regional operator capable of offering local supply. In Renewables, it consolidates its role as a driver of energy autonomy through a diversified portfolio of renewable energy based on biomass—renewable industrial heat and biomethane—which is positioned as a strategic local alternative to imported gas.

In this context, the company’s renewable energy platform is showing significant progress. The renewable industrial heat business will close 2026 with five operational projects, compared with one in 2025. In biomethane, Ence continues to develop a portfolio of 41 projects, of which 25 are in an advanced stage of engineering and administrative processing.

Moreover, the impact of the Middle East conflict on Ence’s operations should be limited, as it benefits from mitigating strategic factors in both businesses, including the energy self-sufficiency of its pulp plants, the use of local supplies, and its commercial exposure to the European market.

Specialty pulp
The company continues to make progress in its transformation into a manufacturer of specialty pulp, substituting higher-cost long fibre. This type of product accounted for 34% of Pulp sales in the first quarter, compared with 30% in 2025. During the quarter, the first sales of fluff pulp were made; this product is still undergoing certification and will help strengthen Ence’s positioning in higher-margin segments.

The target is for specialty pulp to exceed 62% of Pulp sales by 2028.

Focus on cost reduction
The company remains focused on improving operational efficiency. Cash cost, excluding extraordinary impacts, stood at €479/t in the first quarter, compared with €510/t in the first quarter of 2025. The impact of extraordinary factors amounts to approximately €7 million (equivalent to €43/t at cash cost level). The sale of new CAEs for €7 million has partially offset these extraordinary costs.

In the Pulp business, the company continues to implement the Efficiency and Competitiveness Plan and the Navia cost reduction and decarbonisation plan, with the aim of reducing cash cost by €30/t over the 2026–2027 period (approximately €15/t per year). In the first quarter, measures with an annual impact of €6 million have already been consolidated.

La entrada Despite the impact of strikes and severe storms, Ence halves its losses in the first quarter of 2026 and positions itself to capitalise on cost reductions and rising pulp prices se publicó primero en Ence.

The 11th Edition of the Escolástico Zaldívar Awards for Health and Safety, organised by Fraternidad-Muprespa, has unanimously agreed to grant an Honourable Mention to Ence – Energía y Celulosa for the development of an innovative artificial intelligence-based system to prevent run-over accidents and collisions. This recognition was presented in Madrid to mark World Day for Safety and Health at Work, where the work of companies and professionals in protecting people was highlighted.

Ence’s main strategic priority is to ensure the safety and health of all individuals involved in its operations. The award-winning project represents a significant step forward in this area, integrating computer vision technologies, sensors, cameras, positioning systems and artificial intelligence capable of analysing images in real time and detecting risk situations with over 99% accuracy. This capability enables the system to identify the presence of pedestrians, even when they are not carrying identification devices, and to immediately alert drivers through alarms installed in vehicles.

The system also learns from situations encountered during its use, increasing its reliability and effectiveness over time. The solution offers additional functionalities, such as automatic speed reduction when risks are detected and pre-use equipment checks. The data generated is particularly valuable for monitoring and analysing safety indicators, thereby reinforcing the continuous improvement of processes.

Strengthening industrial safety

The Ence Group initiated this project with pilot tests in Pontevedra and Huelva. Since January 2026, the system has been operational at the renewable energy complex of its subsidiary Magnon in Huelva.

The granting of this Honourable Mention recognises Ence’s commitment to innovation applied to industrial safety and the coordinated work of its Safety, Operations, Engineering and Digitalisation teams.

Juan Ibáñez(right), Director of the Group ENCE Joint Prevention Service and of Sustainability, Safety, Occupational Health and Environment for the Pulp business, receiving the award at the ceremony.

La entrada Ence recognised for safety with an intelligent system that eliminates the risk of run-over accidents se publicó primero en Ence.

The project is being carried out in partnership with Tenzas, a forestry consultancy firm, and Nigal, which specialises in digitalisation and advanced data analysis, and benefits from the scientific and technical support of the University of Santiago de Compostela and Feuga (Galician Business-University Foundation) to promote its dissemination.

SILVO+ will integrate artificial intelligence to optimise grazing based on biomass, weather conditions and fire risk. It also involves the validation of technologies such as GPS systems, electronic fencing and mobile infrastructure.

The initiative also includes the development of a standardised methodology to measure and certify ecosystem services such as carbon, biodiversity and soil improvement. Furthermore, a digital platform will be designed to integrate the data generated and facilitate compliance with regulatory requirements, including the CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive).

With SILVO+, Ence is strengthening, within the framework of its Biodiversity Plan, a line of work aligned with its strategy on fire prevention and sustainable forest management, whilst enhancing the identification, measurement and valuation of ecosystem services

SILVO+ receives funding from the Galician Agency for Innovation and is supported by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) under the Galicia ERDF 2021-2027 Program.

La entrada Ence is promoting SILVO+, an innovative project aimed at preventing fires and enhancing ecosystem services se publicó primero en Ence.

Magnon, together with Sandfire MATSA, is leading from its renewable energy complex in Huelva a pioneering circular-economy initiative in Spain.

In late 2025, the two companies launched a project that will make it possible to reuse biomass fly ash as a partial substitute for cement in the backfilling of mining stopes and drifts. This is an unprecedented advance in Spain’s mining sector, strengthening both companies’ commitment to industrial innovation, efficiency, and the circular economy.

In this context, Magnon has begun managing, for this purpose, the ash generated at one of the facility’s three plants, Huelva 50 MW.

This ash is being recovered as a byproduct and progressively incorporated into the paste that Sandfire MATSA uses to backfill underground stopes and drifts. The use is being implemented at two of its mining operations, Aguas Teñidas and Magdalena, located in Almonaster la Real.

Innovative process

The initiative consists of progressively incorporating fly ash generated in renewable biomass power production as a cementitious material in manufacturing the paste used to backfill underground stopes and drifts. This ash has been designated by the Andalusian Regional Government’s Ministry of Sustainability, Environment, and the Blue Economy as a byproduct, suitable for this specific use at these two mines.

Improved strength and durability

Tests carried out by the Sandfire MATSA team and verified by independent laboratories with recognized national and international prestige in the construction field show that the paste resulting from the mixture of cement and biomass fly ash maintains—and even improves—its strength and durability and therefore performs better over time, providing greater long-term safety.

La entrada Magnon drives Huelva’s first use of biomass ash in underground mining se publicó primero en Ence.

This diversified growth across renewable energy streams will enable this business unit to triple its operating profit by 2030.

Biomethane

The development of the biomethane business is one of the main growth drivers within Ence’s renewables division. The company aims to exceed 1 TWh of annual production by 2030, with an EBITDA contribution of more than €60 million. Ence currently has a pipeline of 42 identified projects, 25 of which are in the permitting phase, in addition to one plant already in operation in La Galera. This rollout positions Ence as one of the best-placed players to capture the potential of renewable gas in Spain.

Renewable industrial heat

In parallel, the renewable industrial heat business, operated through its subsidiary Magnon, continues to expand with the goal of reaching 2 TWh of thermal energy production by 2030 and generating more than €40 million in EBITDA. The company currently has one facility in operation, another in commissioning and three projects under construction, consolidating a portfolio with strong growth visibility and long-term contracts.

Renewable electricity

Through Magnon, Ence is also the largest biomass manager in Spain and a leader in electricity generation from agricultural and forestry biomass. With 266 MW of installed capacity, it transforms agricultural residues into clean energy, fostering rural development, reducing wildfire risk and promoting a circular economy model.

Biomass plays a key role as it enables continuous, predictable and demand-adaptable electricity generation, with availability comparable to conventional technologies, making it a reliable solution to ensure the stability of the power system.

Renewable fuels

With regard to renewable fuels, the company is advancing the development of new opportunities linked to the use of biogenic CO₂ and its conversion into sustainable fuels and their derivatives.

This represents a strategic opportunity for Ence, as the production of renewable fuels requires biogenic CO₂ as a feedstock. In this field, the Ence Group holds a distinctive position, generating more than four million tonnes annually—approximately 50% of the total in Spain—concentrated in strategic locations close to ports and key industrial hubs.

La entrada Ence accelerates its growth in renewables with the aim of tripling EBITDA in this business unit by 2030 se publicó primero en Ence.