The large corporations listed in Spain distanced themselves from the slowdown trend of the economy as a whole in the third quarter of the year, which runs from July to September. They did so with a strong rebound in their profits, 22%, up to 14,449 million euros, so the accumulated profits since January, of 38,825 million, are already similar to those of last year, which were records. Banks and tour groups explain this continued boom in profits.
What happened among companies in the third quarter contradicts the economic slowdown detected by the INE. GDP grew by 0.3% compared to the previous quarter, which represents growth one tenth lower than that registered between March and June. The ECB and other organizations agree that, although Spain will close the year with a performance higher than the euro zone average, the evolution will go from more to less.
The explanation for the high profits of large companies is found above all in banking, which has continued to internalize the effects of the increases in interest rates, and tourism, which has had a great summer, with demand and prices shot. These two sectors compensate for the decline of another of the most present in the Ibex, energy, which moderated its profits after skyrocketing in 2022, amid rising hydrocarbon prices due to the invasion of Ukraine.
Banks have continued to report record profits. The six listed companies, which are Santander, BBVA, CaixaBank, Sabadell, Bankinter and Unicaja, added profits of almost 20,000 million euros until September despite the new Government tax. It is 23% more than a year ago and a record obtained thanks above all to the improvement in the third quarter, in which Santander earned 19% more, BBVA 29% more and CaixaBank, 69% more.
The good moment of tourism allowed Aena to accumulate a profit of 1,139 million until September, 71% more. Added to the traffic at the airports is the recovery of the airlines, represented on the Ibex through IAG, the parent company of Iberia, which earned 2,151 million. The Amadeus technology group, dedicated to the wholesale sale of airline tickets, has accumulated a profit this year of 841 million euros. The Ibex only has one hotel company, Meliá, which has not reported its results.
Energy companies have a great weight in the selective, with eight listed, which are Ibedrola, Endesa, Repsol, Acciona Energía, Enagás, Naturgy, Redeida and Solaria. In the absence of the results of Acciona Energía and Naturgy – the CNMV no longer requires the presentation of the accounts for the first and third quarters – the rest of the energy companies add profits of 8,767 million euros, 4.6% less.
The sharpest falls have been that of Endesa, of 27%, and that of Repsol, which earns 13% less and is reducing its investments in Spain in response to the tax on energy companies. Solaria, on the other hand, earned 24% more thanks to the entry into operation of renewable projects, and Iberdrola, very oriented towards green networks and technologies, increased its profit by 17%.
The rest of the Ibex lives very close to the circumstances of each sector. The Colonial and Merlin SOCIMIs suffer losses or a strong erosion of profits due to the effect of interest rate increases on the real estate business, while the steel giant ArcelorMittal or the stainless steel manufacturer Acerinox sharply cut profits after record profits last year, when raw material prices soared.
The two selective construction companies, ACS and Sacyr, are improving profits by 19% and 36%, respectively, thanks to their international business, which focuses mainly on the United States.
The technological component of the Ibex is put above all by Telefónica, whose profits fell until September despite rising almost 10% in the third quarter, and Indra, with increases so far this year of 25% encouraged by the increase in public spending in Defending.
