Naturgy, EnBW stocks post double-digit gains in March; Uniper sees 17.9% drop

In a select group of European utilities and power producers covered by S&P Global Market Intelligence, 11 of the companies posted positive stock returns in March, while nine posted negative returns.

Among the top-performing utilities, Spanish utility Naturgy Energy Group SA posted the largest positive return of 15.3% in March. During the company's annual general meeting in March, shareholders approved all proposed resolutions, including changes to the company's board of directors. Naturgy also detailed progress on the previously announced plan to split the company into two listed entities during the meeting.

Germany's EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG followed Naturgy, recording a 10% gain for March. In late February, EnBW announced that it will divest subsidiary EnBW North America Inc. and its offshore wind operations in the U.S. to TotalEnergies SE as it looks to focus on the European offshore wind market.

Electricité de France SA posted a positive return of 9.8%, followed by CEZ a.s. with a gain of 8.4%. Other companies with positive returns for the month included Terna - Rete Elettrica Nazionale SpA at 6.0%, Red Eléctrica Corporación SA at 4.4%, National Grid PLC at 3.7% and Centrica PLC at 3.6%.

At the other end of the spectrum, German utility Uniper SE posted a negative return of 17.9% for March. The company announced that it will take an impairment of almost €1 billion on its loan to the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline and will not make any new investments in Russia.

French utility Engie SA recorded a 16.4% decline after a French government minister said he would speak to the leaders of energy companies TotalEnergies and Engie about their links with Russia.

E.ON SE posted a negative return of 13%. In mid-March, the company noted a high level of uncertainty and additional risks due to the war in Ukraine.

Austria-headquartered Verbund AG saw an 11.6% drop for the month. Shares of Enel SpA, Fortum Oyj, RWE AG and Iberdrola SA also posted negative returns in March.

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