UK's Drax lifts 2026 profit outlook as heatwave boosts power demand
UK's Drax lifts 2026 profit outlook as heatwave boosts power demand Sept 17 (Reuters) - British power generator Drax DRX.L on Thursday said it expects full-year adjusted core profit at the top end of market consensus, as a summer heatwave fuelled demand and its acquisition of Bluefield Solar Income Fund boosted capacity.
Here are some details:
The company now expects 2026 adjusted core profit to be around the top of a range of analyst estimates of £680 million to £711 million ($910.11 million to $951.60 million), up from earlier guidance of £665 million that had excluded the Bluefield deal.
Drax said its generation assets helped balance the grid through the summer heatwave in the UK, adding 0.3 terawatt-hours of contracted power sales at an average price of £175.9 per megawatt-hour.
The completion of the Bluefield acquisition in July also lifted total capacity under management to about 6.1 gigawatts
Drax plans to operate Bluefield as a dedicated Solar & Wind segment, alongside its flexible generation and biomass businesses.
The expansion comes as Britain races to grow its AI and data centre infrastructure while accelerating its renewable energy buildup to meet rising electricity demand.
Drax said it plans to submit a planning application in the coming months for the first phase of a data centre at its Selby site, involving an initial 100-megawatt facility.
($1 = 0.7472 pounds)
(Reporting by Raechel Thankam Job in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee)
((RaechelThankam.Job@thomsonreuters.com;))