Spain's Enagas buys Saggas stake, says it is on track for 2026 targets
Spain's Enagas buys Saggas stake, says it is on track for 2026 targets MADRID, July 22 (Reuters) - Spanish gas grid operator Enagas ENAG.MC has agreed to buy Osaka Gas' 20% stake in eastern Spain's Saggas regasification plant, it said on Wednesday, while reporting first-half earnings it said kept it on track to meet 2026 forecasts.
The company said it would pay €31 million ($35 million) for the stake in the plant in Sagunto in the Valencia region, which has a liquefied natural gas storage capacity of 600,000 cubic metres and regasification capacity of 1 million normal cubic metres per hour.
That is equivalent to 18% and 15% of Spain's total, respectively.
The deal would raise Enagas' stake in Saggas to 92.5%, with Oman Oil Holdings Spain retaining 7.5%. Closing is expected before end-2026.
ON TRACK FOR FULL-YEAR EARNINGS TARGET
Enagas also reported on Wednesday first-half recurring net profit of €118.6 million, down 8.6% year-on-year but still putting it on track to meet its full-year target of €235 million, it said.
Net profit including asset rotation effects, such as the sale of 40% of Enagas Renovable, fell 28% to €126.9 million in the first six months of the year, the company said. The year-earlier figure included €46.3 million of positive extraordinary impacts.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation came in at €314 million, a 4.6% decline from the same period last year.
The company's net debt stood at €2.31 billion at the end of June, down €170 million from end-2025.
For BarMar, the planned subsea hydrogen pipeline linking Barcelona and Marseille, Enagas said public participation plans had been completed in Spain and France, and the project had been cleared to begin front-end engineering design.
On the route linking Portugal and Spain, known as CelZa, detailed engineering has started on the Spanish section and environmental impact studies have begun in both countries, it added.
($1 = 0.8766 euros)
(Reporting by David Latona; Editing by Jan Harvey)
((david.latona@thomsonreuters.com; +34 918 35 68 13;))