ESB Group announces 2024 Annual Results

ESB Group announces 2024 Annual Results: Financial performance enabled record capital investment of €2.2bn in critical energy infrastructure

Issued: 7:05 am on Thursday, 20 March 2025

ESB has today published its Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2024.

Key Financial Highlights include:

• Profit after tax of €706m, with a dividend of €189m proposed
• Record capital investment of €2.2bn (including joint ventures) in critical energy infrastructure
• €3bn contribution to the Irish economy in 2024 in the form of payroll, taxes, dividends and purchases from domestic suppliers
• Continued financial strength necessary for sustained capital investment – forecasted at up to €13bn over the next five years – supporting National Development and Climate Action Plans
• Carbon intensity of ESB’s power generation continues to reduce – 46% reduction on 2005 baseline 

Commenting on these results, Paul Stapleton, ESB’s Chief Financial Officer, said: “Our profit after tax for 2024 at €706m is a reduction of 19% on the previous year. Nevertheless, it represents a solid performance in the context of the change in market circumstances in 2024. International wholesale energy prices were lower and relatively more stable in 2024 compared to the previous two years, but they remain volatile and at levels that are more than twice that experienced pre energy crisis. The 2024 performance is in line with expectations and has enabled us to deliver a record capital investment of €2.2bn in critical energy infrastructure, while retaining the financial strength to invest more over the coming years.” 

Paul Stapleton continued: “For every euro of Profit after Tax earned by ESB last year, we invested €3 in capital investment projects.”

ESB’s growing capital investment programme aims to continue to develop and decarbonise the energy system by connecting renewables, adding capacity for economic and social development, and ensuring safe, secure and reliable electricity supplies in the face of more frequent extreme weather events. ESB plans to further accelerate this investment to help underpin a more secure energy future, powered by clean electricity.

Paul Stapleton added: “The unprecedented extreme weather events experienced in recent months caused significant electricity supply disruption which we acknowledge was very challenging for many of our customers. This has highlighted the need to further invest to enhance the reliability of the network as well as continuing to invest in renewable energy sources. ESB Networks plans to more than double the scale of investment in the network over the next five years and NIE Networks will have a similar increase in Northern Ireland. This investment is only possible if ESB maintains profitability and a strong credit rating to support an increase in borrowings.”  

Affordability:  

International wholesale energy prices were lower and relatively more stable in 2024 compared to the previous two years, but they remain volatile and at levels that are more than twice that experienced pre energy crisis. ESB is very conscious that energy prices remain challenging for customers. Electric Ireland passed on three separate price reductions to residential customers in Ireland over the last 16 months and continually reviews its prices to ensure we are delivering best value to our customers. 

Capital Investment:

2024 saw another year of record levels of capital investment by ESB in critical infrastructure with over €1.8 billion capital expenditure directly incurred and close to €0.4 billion advanced to joint ventures for infrastructure projects. The total investment of €2.2 billion included €1.4 billion investment in electricity networks in Ireland and Northern Ireland, €0.5 billion invested in renewable generation projects, and €0.3 billion in security of supply and other investments.

Profitability:

Group Profit after Tax of €706m is a reduction on last year’s level of €868m. Profits in Generation and Trading reduced on 2023 due to lower gross margins (in both Ireland and Great Britain). There was an increase in profitability in both our Networks businesses on the island. There was also recovery in margin in our supply businesses, including an improved performance in So Energy in GB.

Dividend and other contributions:

ESB is recommending a dividend of €189m from 2024 profits, bringing total dividends to €1.8bn since 2014. ESB contributed over €3 billion to the Irish economy in 2024 in the form of payroll, taxes, dividends and purchases from domestic suppliers.  

Debt:

ESB had total borrowings of €7.5 billion and net debt of €6.7 billion at the end of 2024. ESB has maintained its financial strength with a strong liquidity position and credit ratings of A-/A3 (BBB+ on a standalone basis) with S&P and Moody’s (outlook Positive in both cases).   

ESB’s Net Zero strategy delivery:

ESB continues to make progress towards net zero. Compared to 2005 baseline levels, the carbon intensity of electricity generated in 2024 was 46% lower while ESB’s overall carbon emissions fell by 65% in that period. The generation fleet now includes a combined 1.8 GW of renewables (wind, hydro, solar) and renewable enabling assets (batteries, pumped storage). ESB Networks and NIE Networks had connected a total of 8.8 GW of renewables to their transmission and distribution networks by the end of 2024. 326,000 smart meters were also installed in 2024, bringing the total number of customers with a smart meter to over 1.9 million in Ireland. Over 85% of ESB capital expenditure in 2024 was aligned with the EU Taxonomy for sustainable investment.

ESB commissioned rating agency Moody’s to carry out an independent third-party Net Zero Assessment (NZA) on ESB’s Net Zero Pathway Report. The result was Moody’s assigning an NZ-3 score (significant) which indicates that our ambition is consistent with a well below 2 degrees Celsius goal in line with the Paris Agreement. Read the full assessment here.

ESB’s 2024 Financial Statements are available here: www.esb.ie/ir. An Irish language version of our Financial Statements is available to view simultaneously here. 

ENDS/

Notes to editor:

Other information – Performance by Business Unit (€’m)

The fall of €133 million in Group Profit Before Tax was driven by Generation and Trading, partially offset by increases in NIE Networks and Customer Solutions.

• Generation & Trading’s underlying operating profit is €398 million down on 2023 mainly due to lower gross margins on wholesale electricity market sales as hedged prices normalised from the high levels experienced in 2022 and into 2023. There were also exceptional items and certain re-measurements totalling to a loss of €19 million (2023: gain of €21 million). 
• NIE Networks’ Profit Before Tax for 2024 is €106 million higher than 2023 primarily as a result of higher revenue which reflects the recovery of allowed regulated costs, in 2024, from the inflationary surge of 2022 and 2023, along with higher pass-through income.
• Customer Solutions returned to profit in 2024, driven by year-on-year improvements in Electric Ireland (€89 million) and So Energy in Great Britain (€36 million), reflecting the relative normalisation of energy costs compared to 2022 and 2023.  
• ESB Networks’ Profit Before Tax is up on 2023, as higher regulated revenues were largely offset by an increase in payroll and operating costs, and in provision charges and depreciation.
• There was a €48 million improvement across other segments, driven by a reduction in net operating costs in the support businesses, translation gains, and lower net interest costs.