Naturgy shields Francisco Reynés as president until 2030

MadridFrancisco Reynés joined Naturgy in 2018, when he was appointed chairman of the company, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, he will continue in this role until 2030. This Wednesday, coinciding with the presentation of the 2025 results, the company announced that the board of directors had made that decision.

The decision not only comes ahead of schedule – the renewal was due in 2027 – but also secures Reynés's position as the company's top executive after several years marked by turmoil surrounding potential changes in leadership, whether through the appointment of a CEO (Reynés also fulfills this function), or by the entry of new shareholders and, therefore, new members on the board of directors. In fact, while it is true that the shareholders remain the same, the recent changes in their weight in the share capital have led to a change of seats.

After the self-takeover bid and the increase of free floatThe fact that the Blackrock-GIP fund decided to retain only 11.4% of the share capital places the Australian fund IFM as the second largest shareholder (15.3%) behind Criteria (26%), historical shareholder of Naturgy and great protector of Reynésand CVC (13.8%). Therefore, it was also announced this Wednesday that IFM will have one more seat on the board, for a total of three, while Blackrock will retain only two seats. Reynés took the opportunity to boast of unanimity and shareholder peace. "There has been much talk of tensions that we have not experienced [on the board]," he stated. And he asserted that the reorganization is the "way they have all found" to acknowledge the current power of each shareholder.

"I have the honor and the pressure of presiding a company with over 180 years of history "And we don't want to be the last chapter, but one more in the story that lies ahead," Reynés said. Executive vice president of Criteria and trustee of the La Caixa Foundation—, who confessed to feeling "satisfied" that all fifteen members of the board supported his renewal (it now has to be ratified by the General Shareholders' Meeting). Reynés' renewal also extends his term beyond the end of Naturgy's current strategic plan, scheduled for 2027. In this regard, the creation of a new "Strategic Vision" committee was also approved to address the challenges of the medium and long term.

Record profits

However, Naturgy – formerly Gas Natural – has broken the €2 billion profit barrier for the first time in a single year. The leading gas company in Spain earned a total of €2.023 billion in 2025, representing a 6.4% increase compared to the profits recorded in 2024.1.901 billion), as the company reported this Wednesday. "These are solid results," Reynés asserted. Despite the record-breaking result, the market did not react enthusiastically, and the stock price fell throughout the morning: at 1:30 p.m., it was down 2.72%, to €28.75 per share. "This sometimes happens," said Reynés, who attributed it to the market reading "beyond" profits.

Naturgy emphasized that it has met its forecasts—announcing an increase in shareholder payouts—despite a "challenging" international context marked by geopolitical tensions that have impacted the energy market, putting upward pressure on prices. In fact, one of the reasons behind the extraordinary profits is that the average price of gas and electricity in 2025 is higher than the price in 2024, as well as the increase in production from combined cycle plants (gas plants) in Spain, which has skyrocketed by 63% due to the reinforcement measures implemented by Red Eléctrica following the recent blackout.

In the medium term, Naturgy will have to face the European Union's proposed disconnection from Russian gas and its imports: the company has a contract with the Russian company Yamal LNG for 3.5 billion cubic meters (bcm) annually until 2038. Beyond how the "diversified" material is used up. "It doesn't represent any "Problem for the physical supply [of gas] in Spain," he said.

The energy company posted EBITDA – which helps to understand a company's financial health – of €5.334 billion, maintaining the record levels of 2024. As for sales, they soared to €19.455 billion in 2025, representing a modest €2.142 billion increase, primarily driven by the electricity distribution network and selective renewable energy projects. Naturgy's other major business is renewable gases, where it intends to grow despite the "slowness" of the administration in authorizing projects and public opposition, while it is tempering its commitment to hydrogen.