From Legacy to Modernity: A Strategy to Ensure Sustained Success

Mytilineos, a prominent energy and industry multinational deeply rooted in Greece for over a century, is actively reinventing itself for the future and addressing contemporary energy challenges through strategic synergies. With a presence in over 40 countries across five continents, its progressive business model seamlessly integrates its industrial legacy, conventional energy operations, significant renewable capacity, metallurgy and innovative strides in artificial intelligence. This approach reflects a cohesive blend of tradition, ongoing initiatives and pioneering advancements, positioning the company at the forefront of the evolving energy landscape.

Global expansion in renewable energy

Mytilineos Energy & Metals is a prominent global player in the energy sector, offering a comprehensive range of services including renewables, power projects, energy generation management, energy supply and trading, and customer solutions.

With an operational capacity of around 5 GW and an additional 9 GW in the early and middle stages of development, Mytilineos is rapidly expanding its global renewable energy storage (RES) portfolio to reach a substantial 14 GW, primarily in Europe and the Americas. The recent acquisition of a 1.4 GW portfolio of photovoltaic projects in Alberta, Canada (with an annual production of 2 TWh) strengthens its strategy to explore opportunities in countries and regions with high commercial interest and business-friendly environments.

Navigating market challenges with resilience

During the first three quarters of 2023, Mytilineos demonstrated resilience in the face of the fluctuating European energy market.

Despite a decrease in electricity demand of approximately 4%, compared to the same period in 2022, the company maintained its electricity production from thermal and renewable sources at 4.41 TWh, representing 11.7% of Greece’s total demand. This was supported by the contribution of its newly operational 826 MW combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) unit, which can play a pivotal role in the energy mix transition, particularly during high-demand periods.

Mytilineos, with over 520,000 electricity and natural gas customers supplied by its retail brand, Protergia, has solidified its position in the Greek market with a market share of over 12.5%, and it aims to surpass 20% with the integration of the aluminum activities. The company’s expansion into Southeast Europe as a key player in natural gas supply and trading has further strengthened its international presence. Leveraging its achievements, Mytilineos is poised to evolve into a comprehensive “utility of the future,” integrating green utility services with a global reach and a commitment to sustainability.

Sustainable energy practices and strategic growth

An advantage of the company’s new structure is the way that its business segments complement each other, in what Evangelos Mytilineos, the firm’s Chairman and CEO, terms a “synergistic, naturally hedged business model.”

These synergies extend to the company’s metal business. Mytilineos is the EU’s largest vertically integrated producer of bauxite, alumina and aluminum—commodities in high demand as critical components of the energy transition, with multiple uses in products from lightweight vehicles to solar panels. This demand threatens to raise CO2 emissions unless producers can electrify their smelters with renewable energy.

Mytilineos will soon join the small group of European producers doing just that. The company has set a target to reduce specific emissions by 75% per ton of aluminum produced, by 2030, which will be achieved by sourcing cleaner electricity and increasing its recycling capabilities. Powering its smelters with renewable energy, Mytilineos will stabilize its electricity costs at lower levels, and exploit the market inefficiencies of today’s volatile wholesale prices, which can dip to zero at times of high electricity production.

Innovative AI and energy optimization ventures

The company is diversifying further in the sustainability space with the launch of Avokado, an innovative spin-off startup that aims to harness artificial intelligence to optimize energy supply chains. Avokado will apply AI capabilities to various aspects of energy technology—for example, using AI-generated algorithms to extend the life of battery storage systems and maximize their efficiency.

Financial resilience with a commitment to sustainability

Mytilineos is also leveraging its reputation as a turnkey energy contractor with a strong track record in power plant construction. The company is particularly active in the UK, where more than half of its $1.64 billion pipeline of projects is based. At the end of Q3 2023, its backlog of contracted projects, including those in advanced stages, totaled $1.9 billion, of which 52% comprises projects in the UK, with 15% in Greece. This activity is expected to record significant growth, both in the construction and concessions sectors.

Recognized industry leadership with a proactive vision

Critically, the numbers add up. Mytilineos’s results for the first nine months of 2023 reveal record performance—demonstrating that a strategic focus on sustainability is entirely compatible with profitability. The company saw a 48% rise in net profit (after minorities, reaching $494 million at the end of Q3 2023. Earnings per share also saw a significant surge of 46%, to $3.57. Furthermore, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose by 36% to $774 million, up from €533 million in the same period last year. These financial results, along with its AA rating for ESG that places it among the MSCI Index’s top sustainability performers, signify the company’s continued commitment to sustainability and global leadership in the energy and metals sectors.

“This performance has been achieved against a background of monetary tightening and the significant de-escalation of energy prices,” points out Evangelos Mytilineos. “It’s not what you would call a favorable background for these kinds of results.” He contends that these positive numbers are “here to stay,” and independent analysts appear to agree. Morgan Stanley’s report An Energy & Metals Player For The New Era hailed the company’s offering as “a unique trifecta—synergistic business model, differentiated energy growth, and cash cow metals business.” Meanwhile, a Citi Research report on Mytilineos at the end of 2022 noted that the company’s “transformational” growth in renewables is evolving beyond expectations, and Citi Research expects renewables to contribute half of the company’s EBITDA over the next five years.

Combined with the green transition of its aluminum business, the company’s expansion in renewables is likely to position Mytilineos with best-in-class ESG credentials. For its CEO, this evolution, blending pragmatism and vision to ensure sustainable growth, is second nature.