27 April 2018.- Standard & Poor’s has improved the long-term credit rating of Ence-Energy & Pulp from BB- to BB with a stable outlook. S  & P has taken into consideration the solid operating performance of ENCE and the growing contribution of the company’s independent energy business to the Group’s results, which gives them greater stability.

It should be noted that ENCE has launched this week the construction of a new 50 MW biomass generation plant in Puertollano (Ciudad Real), in an area where there is an abundance of biomass at a competitive cost. This installation joins the 40 MW biomass plant that ENCE is building in Huelva. Both plants will come into operation in the second half of 2019 and are expected to contribute an EBITDA of more than € 24 million, bringing the estimated EBITDA of ENCE’s energy business to € 84 million by 2020.

Ence increased its net profit by 115% after rising to € 29.5 million in the first quarter of 2018. The Group’s EBITDA improved by 54% after standing at € 62.9 million. Strong free cash generation in the quarter allowed ENCE to allocate € 17 million to investments and reduce its net debt by € 28 million. The Group’s level of leverage at the end of the quarter stood at only 0.5 times the EBITDA of the last 12 months.