HELLENiQ Energy Doubles Interim Dividend to €0.40 per Share After Strong Earnings
Key Facts
HELLENiQ Energy approved an interim dividend of €0.40 per share for fiscal 2026, doubling it from €0.20, with payment due in January 2027. Chief Executive Andreas Siamisis said performance over the first nine months enabled the increase and paved the way for an improved annual dividend to be announced in February 2027. The decision came as the group reported adjusted EBITDA of €1.896 billion for the 9 months ended in September. Adjusted net income was €1.201 billion over the same period. The dividend highlights the company’s ability to convert operating performance into shareholder returns while reducing debt.
The third quarter was a key driver of the results, with adjusted EBITDA at €1.162 billion, compared with €365 million in the third quarter of 2025. Adjusted net income for the quarter rose to €808 million from €186 million a year earlier. Sales also reached €5.113 billion in the quarter, up 54% year over year from €3.312 billion. The comparison reflects a significant improvement in profitability and revenue in the period ahead of the dividend decision. The company said the improvement in profitability came mainly from higher benchmark refining margins, improved crude supply and higher net export proceeds.
Adjusted EBITDA for the refining, supply and trading segment was €1.051 billion in the third quarter, a figure for the three-month period rather than the nine-month total. The group’s system-wide average benchmark refining margin rose to $30.1 per barrel in the quarter, from $8.5 in the corresponding period of 2025. The company said energy-market disruption was linked to geopolitical developments in the Middle East and disruptions to crude flows and product exports. In this context, the average Brent crude price was $97 per barrel in the quarter, up 40% year over year, and peaked at $129 in September. The group also attributed part of its performance to improved crude supply and export proceeds, alongside positive contributions from petrochemicals, marketing and power.
Liquidity supported the dividend decision and debt reduction, with free cash flow at about €1 billion over the 9 months. The company cut net debt by €0.6 billion compared with the end of 2025, to €1.5 billion at the end of September 2026. At the same time, investment totaled €565 million over the period, with about half going to growth projects, particularly renewable energy projects in southeastern Europe. Renewable energy operating capacity stood at 615 megawatts at the end of September, and the company added 160 megawatts in October. The renewables, power and gas segment also reported adjusted EBITDA of €29 million in the third quarter, after adding 120 megawatts of renewable energy since the start of 2026.
The company continues to expand its renewable energy portfolio, saying 0.3 gigawatts of projects are under construction and 0.4 gigawatts are at an advanced development stage. These projects support targets to reach capacity of 1.1 gigawatts by 2027 and 1.5 gigawatts by 2028. In the market, the average European benchmark gas price was €64 per megawatt-hour in the third quarter, the highest quarterly average since the fourth quarter of 2022. The company said more than €50 million was allocated to motor fuel discounts in Greece, while support also extended to heating oil under a broader initiative expected to exceed €100 million in 2026. The market is awaiting the full-year fiscal 2026 dividend announcement in February 2027, while the company has set February 25, 2027, for the release of its fiscal 2026 results.