Iberdrola, S.A. (IBE) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, shareholders. We are holding the AGM at our headquarters. And I'm pleased to inform you that we've reached the necessary quorum to constitute and hold this AGM. Consequently, we can now start. I'm going to give the floor to the Secretary, Mr. Santiago Martínez Garrido.

Thank you very much, Chairman. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. This meeting is being held at the corporate headquarters with the attendance of the shareholders or their representatives as well as the proxy votes and remote those received through the channels made available to you which results in a participation of over 75% of the share capital. And over 99% has voted for, as we can see on the screen, which is another sign of the trust in the Board of Directors. I would like to report that since the last meeting, we have kept in touch with all of you through the various transparency and engagement measures in the permanent shareholders' engagement policy, which was amended for the last time last March. In particular, this continued contact with all of you has meant over 1 million visits to the website, meetings with national and international shareholders and with vote advisers and the constant engagement through the shareholders' club. We have also held several meetings with shareholders such as those organized in Valencia, Bilbao and Madrid, among other cities, where there have been over 12,000 contacts that have enabled our shareholders to get to know our company better. And for this general meeting, we have established an engagement space in the web which provides for a permanent interaction all the year round with the corporation, including an interactive platform with over 15,000 visits. We also implemented the necessary systems so that all shareholders can exercise their right to information, intervention and vote. Mechanisms have also been provided during the year so that the interventions can be received during the whole year up to the holding of the meeting. I'd like to report that the Chairman and the Secretary of the meeting, others that hold this position on the Board, and the panel is made up of the attending directors. I have requested the notary, Ramón Múgica Alcorta, to attend who will draw up the minutes of the meeting. The call of the meeting, the resolutions made by the Board, the reports and documents approved by the Board, the amendments or improvements made in the Governance and Sustainability System and the other information required by law, all the bylaws have been available on the corporate website. An external review has also been made of the delegation, remote voting, counting closing the quorum and seat reservation procedures, among others. Pending final checks, both at the legal and statutory clauses have been implemented. I would like to remind you that as stated in the call, the shareholders can attend this meeting telematically by registering on the website or in person, and in this case, should previously reserve a seat. In the assumption of any interruptions or failures in the telematic connection, the participants can get in touch with the shareholders' office to seek their help. This information was published several months ago, and you've had the opportunity to learn more about the annual accounts and the management report of the company as well as service subsidiaries and also the nonfinancial statement corresponding to the fiscal year 2024. All of this information was made available to you on the website of the National Stock Exchange Commission and of this company, we have been able to consult information together with the respective audit and verification and reports and the rest of the documentation of the AGM, having received until yesterday thousands of concentrations that have been covered by the different meetings held with national and international shareholders and with the vote advisers. Consequently, the report of the Board of Directors, as in previous years, is -- has an audiovisual section that explains the main magnitude of the fiscal year. And later on, I will describe some of the additional aspects of this information, and I will also talk about our prospects for the future. [Presentation]

Ladies and gentlemen, shareholders, as you've seen in the presentation, 2024 has been another record-breaking year, thanks to our vision and strategy which were pioneering more than 20 years ago and continue to be so today, with which we are contributing solutions to the industry's biggest challenges, whilst generating wealth, industrial development and employment in the countries where we operate and, of course, much more value for you, our dear shareholders. Last year, we -- you've just seen this, we attained a new record figure for investment with more than EUR 17 billion allocated mainly to network infrastructures in the United Kingdom and the United States, both to organic growth as well as to the integration of the British company, Electricity Northwest, based in Manchester and the acquisition of 18.5% stake we did not already own in our U.S. subsidiary, Avangrid, using the proceeds from divestments made during the year in thermal generation assets. This unprecedented investment effort has also led us to achieve a record profit of EUR 5,612 billion, which is 17% more than the previous year, which allows us to propose today to this general shareholders meeting a dividend of EUR 0.635 per share, whilst also allocating a record amount of EUR 4 billion to your remuneration dear shareholders, which is the largest distributed by Iberdrola in its 100-year history. And we have already broken the EUR 100 billion in capitalization, creating EUR 90 billion in value over the last 2 decades, which makes us the first European electricity company to achieve this level in history and one of only two that have surpassed it in the world with total profitability since the beginning of last year, approaching 40%, far above the average for the leading Spanish and European companies across all sectors. Today, we are 1 of the 2 companies with the greatest weight in the IBEX 35, and we are worth more than all Spanish-listed companies together or than the sum of all listed electricity companies in countries like Germany, France, the United States, United Kingdom, Witley. Furthermore, leading analysts continue to recommend buying or holding our company shares with target prices well above current values. Ladies and gentlemen, our shareholders, our pioneering vision and successful execution have positioned us as a leader in a sector that will face extraordinary growth in the coming years. The new technological advances make electrification unstoppable from transmission to buildings air conditioning from industrial heating to digitization data processing or artificial intelligence. All of today's major inventions are based on electricity. By 2024, global electricity demand had increased by 4.3%. And the International Energy Agency expects that this pace will be maintained in the coming years, which would mean multiplying by 2 demand in just over 15 years. This push toward electrification will also help to overcome many of the challenges presented by the current geopolitical and economic context. In an increasingly automated and digitized world, having access to electricity is the first requirement to access all of our everyday services from telecommunications to industry, air conditioning and the water we consume. This makes energy security a genuine national security issue. And this makes it more essential than ever before to have a robust energy system that is not overly dependent on external sources and equipped with network infrastructures that can meet this growing demand with complete reliability. In the United States, for instance, investments to expand and modernize electricity distribution networks have increased by 50% over the last 5 years. And in the United Kingdom, this figure is nearly 4x larger the investments in new networks and new interconnections between Scotland and the South of England. Energy security was the reason that brought together 60 energy ministers and officials from around the world as well as from the leading companies in the sector, including Iberdrola just a month ago at an extraordinary summit convened in London by the International Energy Agency and the British government, chaired by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and the President of the European Commission. It's document summarizing the conclusions highlights the need to take full advantage of an increasingly electrified future, including the following: greater energy autonomy, more stable and competitive prices as they do not depend on the volatility of fossil fuels and improvements in the balance of payments due to lower imports of energy products. In addition to creating local markets, jobs and development, thanks to the huge investments in electrical infrastructure or the reduction of emissions and of air pollution. For all of these reasons, the Summit is so committed to growth strategy based on electrification and emphasize the need to establish clear, stable energy policies as well as regulatory frameworks that to provide incentives and have legal certainty that attract companies with the knowledge, technology, human capital and financial capacity required to lead this transformation. Today, we can humbly proudly say that Iberdrola is one of them. Our forward thinking, our ability to deliver our consolidated presence in dozens of countries and above all, our impeccable track record in fulfilling our commitments have made us a benchmark for governments and institutions around the world. This is reflected by the fact that we are invited to the main international forums and Summit and to meetings of the highest institutional level in all the countries where we are present. This leadership consolidated over decades of service also means that we can count on the best companies around the world as our suppliers who see us as the perfect partner to boost their business thanks to our long-term vision, potential for growth and internationalization. Companies linked to Iberdrola through long-standing relationships based on mutual trust which allows us to secure our supply chain at a time of great complexity. And also ready to share with us the challenges that may arise in the dozens of projects we undertake together. We will soon be bringing many of these companies together at Enlit, Europe's largest electrical industry trade fair that will take place here in Bilbao at the Bilbao Exhibition Center in the month of November. Continuing with other major events that we have brought to the city in recent years, such as the WindEurope Summit and the European Round Table for Industry. Today, the world's largest technology companies such as Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta and Microsoft and leading industrial companies such as Heineken, Mercedes, Volkswagen, and Bayer trust us with the electricity supply, positioning us as the leading electricity supplier in long-term energy sales in Europe according to the rankings compiled by Bloomberg. And along with the best suppliers and customers, we have banks and financial institutions from around the world, participating in our debt issues. And we have -- as partners, we have the world's largest sovereign wealth and investment funds. Funds such as Norges Bank in Norway, GIC in Singapore and Mazda in the United Arab Emirates. And most notably, the Qatar Investment Authorities, Mohammed Saif, I would like to thank his excellence. Mr. Saoud Mohammed Al-Thani and the Funds Director General, Mr. Al-Thani, thank you very much for your presence here today. Thank you very much. Ladies and gentlemen, shareholders, the consolidation of our leadership and the outlook for the energy sector and our competitive advantages open up a very optimistic future for us. This has been demonstrated by the results obtained in this first quarter in which net profit exceeded EUR 2 billion, marking a growth trend that we expect to maintain throughout the year, thanks to planned investments of EUR 13 billion and of which 2/3 of this investment will go to the United Kingdom and the United States, mainly for electricity transmission and distribution networks. To tackle these projects, last year, we hired 6,000 new professionals bringing the total number of people in the Iberdrola family to over 44,000. And in the coming years, we planned to continue hiring thousands more workers who join us attracted by our working conditions, job stability and security by the quality of our training and the opportunities for professional and personal development that we offer. For example, just in Spain we had 50x more job applications than we needed to fill. This great human team puts its talent and effort in working every day to ensure that 100 million people continue to receive a safe, competitive and efficient electricity supply even in critical situations, such as during the restoration of service in Spain a month ago, when more than 2,000 colleagues worked tirelessly providing all our technical and material resources to the systems operator Red Eléctrica to achieve this or in the extreme weather events that affected hundreds of thousands of people in Scotland, the United Kingdom, Brazil or the United States. And of course, after the tragic floods in Valencia, where they demonstrated exemplary generosity and dedication. Therefore, I would like to ask for a round of applause to all of them in recognition of their courage and professionalism. I would also like to thank the members of the Board of Directors for their constant health and support and for the magnificent work they've carried out both on the Board and in their committees. Today, we submit for approval by this general shareholders' Meeting, the ratification of Ana Colonques and the reelection of Juan Manuel González Serna and Ana Colonques who will undoubtedly continue to enrich our Board with their knowledge and proven experience. Dear shareholders, it's a great honor for me to stand before you once again to show you our magnificent present day and our bright future. For over more than 2 decades, our business model has demonstrated its ability to break record year after year in terms of investments, results, dividends and job creation. And also in terms of stock market value now exceeding EUR 300 million, which consolidates our position as the largest electricity company in Europe and 1 of the 2 largest in the world. We look to the future with optimism based on our governance model, values and track record of economic growth and social contribution. Our purchases job creation contributions to public finances, innovation, care for the environment and protection of the most vulnerable groups are proof of this. Next year, we will celebrate the 125th anniversary of our founding driven by a group of past entrepreneurs who invested their money and tethered to create this industrial project which today enjoys the best prospects in its history, making these 125 years at the beginning of a phase of unprecedented growth. I would like to conclude by expressing on behalf of myself and the Board of Directors, our gratitude for your trust and support and commitment you've shown us every year. Furthermore, I express my firm commitment to continue on our path of value creation. As I'm fully aware of our role in continuing to build a more just return of solidarity based and sustainable work for all. Thank you very much. I'm now going to give the floor to the Secretary, so he can address some of the main issues related to corporate governance reported since the previous AGM.

First of all, I would like to highlight that the group corporate governance have been strengthened, improving its decentralized structure and including among other things, second level internal governance, commitment to sustainability and the role the shareholders' meeting as a further challenge for the participation and engagement of shareholders in corporate life. I would also like to report that Ángel Jesús Acebes Paniagua has been appointed Coordinating Director and that the company meets all the recommendation of code for good governance for listed companies approved by the CNMV that are applicable, except #1, in relation to each the company includes one of the alternatives in the Companies Act and with 64, which partially fulfills.

I'm going to give the floor back to the Secretary, so you can explain the constitution quorum of this AGM.

The share capital today amounts to EUR 4,830 420,750 and is represented by 6,440,561,000 ordinary shares, all of them with a nominal value of EUR 0.75 belonging to a single class and series. A total of 98,492 shareholders attend with 4,865,755,376 shares, which represents 75.55% of the share capital. And of these shareholders, a total of 176 are present with 23,549,000 shares, representing 0.36% of the share capital. They also continue to be present, having remotely voted a total of 26,236 shareholders with 356,514,705 shares, representing 5.57% of the share capital and they are represented by proxy, a total of 75,033 shareholders with 4,483,739,272 shares represented 69.62% of the share capital. Notwithstanding the results that will be reported after processing the proxies and votes yet to be counted with the votes issued and the proxies received so far, all the blocks subjected to approval have received a support of between 98.6% and 99%. The treasury stock of the company amounts to 169,294,169 shares, representing 2.63% of the share capital has been counted in order to calculate the necessary percentages for the constitution and adoption of agreements. Although according to the law, the exercise to the right to vote for these shares is under suspension.

So therefore, confirm the valid constitution of this AGM in the first call to address all of the issues covered by the agenda, and I'm going to go the floor to the notary.

In compliance with Article of 101.1 of the business registered regulations, I state that I've been requested to attend the shareholders' meeting and drop the minutes of the meeting. I have judged the capacity of the applicant and have verified that the meeting has been called meeting the legal and bylaw requirements and have accepted the request. In compliance with Article 101.3 of these regulations, I am pleased to report that if there are any reservations or protest by the participants that are present here in the room or are remotely or statements made by the Secretary regarding the number of shareholders in attendance and the capital present or represented you can come up to my desk or let me know by following the instructions on the computer application in the corporate website through which you're connected to the meeting in order for me to take note of the circumstances and included in the minutes for the session.

We're now going to move on to the Q&A session. I'm going to give the floor to the Secretary for the interventions.

For the proper organization of this part of the event and so that all the shareholders can participate, I'd like to remind you that you should limit your interventions to the subjects that are matter of this meeting and not take longer than necessary according to the Companies Act and the Shareholders' Meeting regulations. I remind you that according to the applicable regulations, all the questions that are asked will be answered verbally during this meeting or will be answered in writing in within 7 days. As the law indicates, there will be provided to the notary to be included in the meeting if the shareholders, so which. Jose Carlos Arnaud, you has the floor first.

I'm Jose Carlos Arnaud, Iberdrola shareholder and I'm from Valencia. And as we've been able to see in the video, I would like to thank you for the work done by the company in the terrible floods we suffered that had devastating [indiscernible] in the south of the province of Valencia. And I'm personally aware as so many Spanish are aware that are volunteered to help, I'm fully aware of the work that was done, and I would like to thank the Shareholders' Meeting to publicly -- thank you for the work done to recover the power supply in so many places, which was vital during those dramatic moments. So first of all, as a shareholder and as part of the company and also as a citizen and as somebody from Valencia very directly affected. I would like to thank all of these professionals for their enormous work. Secondly, I think we'll follow the news, and we realize that the environment is more complex, constantly changing for years. The renewable power seems to be consolidated. All of a sudden, there's criticism, there's tension. And it seems that this progress that many of us saw something that was unstoppable is being questioned and something that is positive from every point of view. So a company, and we've seen the figures, the presence in the world and its consolidation. And the company has to work in this complex situation, but the business model is not easy to change overnight. And I think that the process is a long thing. So my question for the Board is what is the view? What is the approach to continue to work in this field and how can it affect the business plan for the coming years. The changes that are taking place, let's say, on both sides, it seems that we're on one path and then other tensions come up. What would that path be like? How does the board feel that this is going to affect our business plan in the coming years?

Thank you very much, Jose Carlos. And now Emilio Sáenz-Francés has the floor.

Good morning, and thank you very much, first of all, for all the information that have been provided. My question has to do with the international scenario, and perhaps because I'm a Professor of International Relations at the Comillas University. And I would like to be brief and concise in my two questions. It was all out for years strategically backing the development of its business in the United States, but it's also true that recent events in that country a new administration a precise by Donald Trump that is significantly different to the previous public and presidency, opens up an uncertain scenario. It's true that we're talking about the development of new infrastructures, but renewables are being questioned versus fossil fuels, the famous drill baby drill that the President said. And I would like to ask you about the business prospects and the situation in the United States. And in relation to this, there have been reports in the press recently saying that there have been top level contacts between Iberdrola and the new U.S. administration. And in relation to this, I would like to ask about the new scenario that's opening up in the United States with this new administration and whether these new scenarios could affect the approach of Iberdrola in that country. Thank you very much.

And now David Christopher Lehman has the floor.

Good morning, everyone. Mr. Chairman, Directors, my name is David Lehman, I'm British, and I've worked in the financial sector for many years. And I've been in Bilbao for decades. Iberdrola's commitment in the U.K. is very important, and it's been reinforced by the purchasing of Electricity Northwest, the distributor with a commitment of continuing to invest tens of millions of pounds in the country. I would like to ask you about your view regarding prospects in the United Kingdom, in particular, in energy policies and how are those perspectives will affect the major Iberdrola investments in the country? And also, could you explain the synergies that Electricity Northwest will contribute to the business overall? And what measures are being taken for its profitability as a recently acquired company will be up to the level of the rest of the regulated business. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much. And now Gorka López del Corral Gutiérrez has the floor.

[Foreign Language] I was saying that I again have to start this year by saying that I'm Gorka, I'm the trade union representative, and I represent a large part of the workforce. And with an increase of close to 90% in our proxy shares, approximately 1.5 million shares. Last year, I already expressed our concern about the loss of purchasing power suffered by the workforce of Iberdrola employees in Spain. You made an appeal to dialogue, but a year has passed and there has been no dialogue in no conclusion. And in terms of loss of purchasing power in 2024, there was another loss which brings it to a total of 16.8% loss of purchasing power in the last 4 years. And I repeat the workforce has lost 16.08% of its purchasing power in the last 4 years. So now that the past agreement has expired, and we've started negotiating the new one in January. The position of the company has taken us to a dead end and we've had to call various mobilizations such as the ones that are taking place right now and the announcement of a strike for next Friday, June 6. The workforce that will back the strike is the same one that worked so hard in the Valencia floods. The one that was in the same videos and those people that you congratulated with words, but they are not rewarded with these, and these other families that are having their purchasing power reduced. And I would like you to answer these questions. What do you think of the fact that with EUR [ 5,612 million ] in profits with a double-digit growth. The wage increase proposal does not ensure a guaranteed purchasing power-based on the consumer price index. How can you argue that the top management increases its wages over the consumer price index? And however, the personnel in and the bargaining agreement is denied this. If my figures are correct, Iberdrola started in 1901. Therefore, it has a 124 years history. Would you like to be remembered as the first Chairman in the history of this company, under which there was a strike because of the and just remuneration of its employees at a time when profits are at a record high of the company. It's in your hands to prevent this from happening, and our arms open to hold a dialogue, but it should be based on a logical, reasonable proposal, in accordance with the current and future situation of the company. In other words, recover and maintain purchasing power. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much. Daniel Vicente Garcia Sorribes has the floor.

Good morning, Chairman, Directors. My intervention is related to one of the issues that I think shareholders are most interested in growth, of course, but also to a large extent, the dividend and the sustainability of the dividend. However, before getting to the question, I'd like to reflect on issues related to the shareholders' meeting itself. In the end, I believe that the shareholders' meeting itself. In the end, I believe that the shareholders' meeting is the moment, notwithstanding other meetings that have taken place. But it's the moment all the time to talk to the Directors of our company. And therefore, the main question should be questions that concern the shareholders. And in this case, I think that there are issues that need to be dealt with in different areas at the negotiation table where our shareholders I think, are less involved. And the matter of remuneration is a balance sheet matter. And any company, the remuneration doesn't seem to be a problem at our company. It was in the press this morning. The ranking of the best Basque companies or the most desirable companies to work in, in the Basque country and Iberdrola is #1. And it has been traditionally the case over 125 years. My grandparents, parents, many other relatives and friends have worked for the company for electric Iberdrola and this has always been the general feeling towards the company in the same way that shareholders don't ask for those billions that are going to be allocated to investments to be paid out to us in dividends. So I believe that we all need to establish a balance. So my question regards sustainability, but the sustainability of long-term profit, what is the dividend policy planned for the coming years, whether it's going to stick to this intention of growing in like-to-like terms to profit and what is the remuneration policy for the shareholders going to be via dividends. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much. Monica Durango Garcia has the floor.

Hello, good morning. Good morning to the participants to the members of the Board and the Chairman. The reason for my intervention is to put a question to the Chairman, although first, I would like to make some comments regarding what I feel the object of this shareholders' meeting should be, which is to approve or reject the management of this Board and the executive team based on the results, which according to the explanation seem to be a fairly good especially for a company that's a leader in the sector and whose management model is stated at various universities, including Harvard, for example. The question I would like to ask is whether after the episode suffered in April and the hypothetical change in energy policies, what influence could that have or could it change the company's strategy? Thank you very much, and good day.

Thank you very much. And finally, the interventions received via the web. First of all, the association for the defense of bank deposits [indiscernible] has made an intervention recognizing the results of Iberdrola and considering a great company. However, the complaint of customers regarding incorrect invoices or services that have been requested in Iberdrola Spain, Jose Antonio Lopez Navarro and a representing the trade unions who had the information is a risk refers to the loss of purchasing power of the employees of Iberdrola Spain since last agreement and the negotiation of the new bargaining agreement where he feels that no progress has been made very similarly to what the trade union representative [indiscernible] stated. And there are no more questions, Chairman.

Well, thank you very much for your questions. And also many thanks for all of your views and all the suggestions we've received this year. And we hold hundreds of meetings every year that we hold with all kinds of investors, things that we do in Continental Europe or in the United Kingdom or in the United States and even in the Far East. And these meetings also take place at a much more local level at the shareholders' club. These meetings are held in Bilbao, Valencia and Madrid or we have the shareholder events that we've held over the last few days that have been attended by more than 3,000 people. So we are constantly in touch. And these channels, we have our channels that are open in 365 days a year through the online system for shareholders and the telephone. And we have attended to thousands of calls over a period of 12 months before this AGM, so we can therefore say that we have what we could call a permanent AGM because of our level of contact. But I would like to point out something that's very important and that is that all of these contributions and in all of these meetings, and many of those meetings are attended by me. All of these contributions are extremely useful to maintain and preserve and uphold our strategy. So this is the way I would like to encourage you to use all of these resources so that you can let us know what it is your thoughts are or your ideas are because I always repeat this, you own this company. We just manage your resources and with your resources, we try to do things as best as we possibly can, but your imports are very, very useful. Moving on now to the questions from Mr. Arnaud. I think that what you said is true. We are living in a context that is obviously full of uncertainties. A few weeks ago, I saw in the economists, they were saying something along the lines of the only certainty is that we're living in an uncertain world. Well, this is what our reality is all about, but we do know something, though. And that is that electrification is unstoppable. So as far as the certainties are concerned of the world we live. We are absolutely certain that the electrification of the users we have is going to become stronger. And before in my speech, I said that demand is growing something like 4%, and it's expected to multiply by 2 in the next few years. And we also know is that there's a latent demand, an enormous latent demand that cannot be covered because there's a lack of electrical infrastructure because we are lacking grids and lacking generation in certain countries. So we have to invest much, much more in electricity grids so that we can cover this new demand. So that we can provide services for electric vehicles and for heat pumps and industrial applications that are sometimes limited by this lack of infrastructures. And we also need to have more generation capacity, too. What kind of generation will something that well, the government say -- the governments that design the energy policies, we are just the agents that develop the policies that are established or laid down by governance so that we can meet this demand this present and future demand. But in order to do so, we have to make very big investments, gigantic investments that require regulatory frameworks that provide the necessary incentives. They have to be stable. They have to be predictable and they have to be legally guarantee to and also minimize the number of lawsuits in other words, lawsuits only defer the policies. And we also need to have the human and financial resources to get this done. But as I said before, Iberdrola fortunately has access to financial resources. We have a human team that is fully trained and fully committed to make these enormous investments that this year are going to be gigantic. We're talking about EUR 13 billion. And we're also very lucky because we're operating in countries where they have attractive and stable frameworks and with legal security, too. And this is the case of the United States. And with this, I would like to answer Mr. Sáenz-Francés. And we've been in the States for more than 20 years. So the United States is not new for us because we've been operating on the different administrations there, and we have more than $50 billion in assets in the country, and we are present in 24 states. We give a service to more than 10 million people in New York, Connecticut, Maine and Massachusetts, for instance, just to give you a few names. And a few days ago, I had the opportunity, well, thanks to the invitation that I received from his Excellence, the Emir of Qatar. I was invited to the dinner that was offered by the mid to the President of the United States. And I greeted him there and we'll I also met up with the North American ministers. So we have a very, very positive relationship with all of them. But the policy of the United States is focused on promoting energy infrastructures to meet a growing demand. We basically 80% of our investments in the United States have to do with electricity infrastructures or electricity grids. And this is a regulated sector. And over the next few years, we're going to be spending something like $20 billion in specifically defined frameworks and stable frameworks and in environments that offer this legal protection, too. And we have something that is very important, and that is the local supply chains. Let's say that 80% to 90% of our suppliers are local suppliers that we have incorporated over the last few years. So that means that the prospects we have in that country are extremely positive. And in fact, I also believe that the results reported in Q1. I think that it was 30% of our operational profits come from the United States. So I think that this gives you an idea of how big this operation is. As regard to the question from Mr. David Lehman, you have improved a lot since you are already in Bilbao. So thank you very much for speaking already in Spanish with this accent -- Bilbao accent, which I think is very good. But in the United Kingdom, it's a country that offers this legal security to it because we have a stable framework. We have a big incentives supplied by the U.K. government. And we -- apart from organic growth, and this is something that I mentioned later on last year, we acquired Electricity Northwest, which is the distribution firm for the Northeast of England and which is, well, working with our Wales and Scottish operator. So we're covering the entire North Western Coast of the United Kingdom, which has -- means that we are the biggest electricity operation in the U.K. right now. We have investment plans for EUR 28 billion until the year '28 and fundamentally in grids and some offshore wind farms that we're currently building. And some of them are connections that are absolutely pioneering connections. And after the first underwater connection between Wales and Scotland. Now we have another two. One has already started to connect Scotland with East Anglia with the East of the United Kingdom, which the Southeast, which are absolutely impressive facilities, by the way. And the truth is that the demand for electricity is growing in the United Kingdom in a very significant manner, and we have to build these networks to cover these needs. And as regards an offshore wind farm. We have two projects, one in the Sea, another one on the Eastern Coast with nearly EUR 5 billion in investments, and we're building another two more was nearly EUR 8 billion in investments that will be finished between the year '26 and '28. So we have put our stakes on the United Kingdom. It's very clear. And I think that the framework is very attractive. It's also a very predictable and very stable. And as they say, well, the rule of law is an absolute must. It's an absolutely definitive concept. And from the point of view of the issues that have been pointed out by Gorka, Well, what I would say about this, firstly, and I have to stress this, at Iberdrola, we have some magnificent people that are deeply committed to the company and who are capable of making these many investments in many different countries. And we have an absolute relationship of trust and dialogue. And in all instances, we have economic conditions that provide us with stability and professional development and that are very significant. And this can be seen in all the rankings in which we stand, both public rankings and surveys that say that Iberdrola is one of the favorite companies as regards working for the organization in the past country in Spain and in other countries, too. And just to give you some figures now, last year, I think that in the case of Spain, there were like 60 people that left the company voluntarily in -- with a workforce of 9,000 with 13,000 applications to join the company. And this, in the past country was even more significant, what it's only been 5 people that have left with more than 3,000 applications to get a job in the company. So it seems that this environment is reasonably attractive for people who want to join our company and to work for us. Because of the issues that are covered in the surveys have to do with the economic attractiveness of the company; secondly, personal and professional development; and thirdly, the issue that has to do with work-life balance. So it seems that it's not a negative environment. But in any case, I would like to stress this time and again, I've been working with the trade units for many years. And what I say I think that there are not that as many people that have worked in such -- so close cooperation in bargaining processes when we had to negotiate the collective agreement and have also operated at many, many, many levels with them. But there's a fundamental lever that has to do with mutual trust and dialogue. These are the foundations of our relationship with all of the social agents or social stakeholders. So Gorka, I have to stress this, and I know that we will reach an understanding because I've been behind many collective agreements, and I've always met up with you people. And you know that these bases for dialogue and for trust have been the foundations for all of our negotiations as we're doing in all other countries, too, because in the last 12 months, we've signed more than 10 collective agreements in the countries of the United States, the United Kingdom, Brazil or Mexico, and I'm sure that we are going to do so here, too, although we have to carry out a dialogue and we have to open up this tile completely and not just imposed things on other people, but there has to be a dialogue. And now as regards the question from Mr. Garcia Sorribes, we think that a dividend is a very important issue. And since I started working with this company, and that was 25 years ago, is something that we have been doing, we have been increasing it, we have been doing so in a sustainable manner. And today, we are submitting for approval of record dividend of EUR 0.63 per share and it's true with a growth of 15%, and it's true that this is below 17%. And of the increase in profits, but it's also equally true that we're talking about EUR 4 billion that we are investing in the dividend. So that means that it's 8x more than what we -- what was being paid when I arrived in this company, we've multiplied the dividend by 8%. And it also has to be taken account not only the dividend, but also the creation of value of the company because, as I said before, is gone -- the value of the company is to be on EUR 90 billion. So apart from paying 8x more on dividend, we've also increased the worth of the company by more than EUR 90 billion, and I think that the prospects we have for the future are very, very positive. But this is something that you mentioned and I have to ratify is we have to maintain a sustainable equilibrium between these priorities as a shareholder those people that want to be paid a high dividend and they have the right to ask for that. And the dividend shareholders that want a greater remuneration and suppliers that want higher prices. And we also have to serve our societies, and we have to provide a service that is as competitive as possible. So that's why we have to achieve this balance. And one of the issues that we're currently working right now, we're investing money, is that social dividend every year and that is the creation of jobs for ourselves and for our suppliers and the wealth that we are creating in the environment and the service that is dozens of millions of people over the world that are receiving our power, our energy. And this is a contribution toward society in situations that are terrible as we saw for instance, in the case of the Valencia floods and in other countries when they had tremendous storms. So therefore, I would like to thank Mr. Arnaud. Many thanks for your kind words. On behalf of all of the -- our colleagues in the Valencia community. And on behalf of the rest of our colleagues in Spain, who did as much as they possibly could to recover the power supply to make it reach those people that needed it and to give them the full support at a point in time that was truly dramatic. But we've also provided more than EUR 100 million. We're investing more than EUR 100 million in the Valencia community to rebuild or to build a completely new network because the other one was completely destroyed or most of it was destroyed by the flooding. So I would like to thank you very much indeed for your kind words because it's something that really makes us feel absolutely proud of the values that this company has and that the people of this company display when we experience these critical situations. As regards to the question from Mr. Durango, what I say is that I'm absolutely sure that what Iberdrola did during and after the incident always responded to the protocols and the regulations established by the ministry and also by the system operator that is Red Eléctrica, who's in charge of the maintenance actions in the country. But our teams, our teams follow the instructions that were issued by Red Eléctrica, which I say is responsible for the electricity system in Spain and made available all the necessary tools. And you also mentioned other technologies that are required that as nuclear power stations or other power stations. Well, as far as the nuclear power stations are concerned, which stations and as you know, we are the company that has invested in renewables, most in renewables. So we are renewable, but nuclear power stations form part of that mix that we believe is necessary. But I've said this many times, and that is that we do not draft the energy policy we companies. We are just -- we do whatever the energy policy is dictated by the governments. And what we ask is that what we want is that the framework, the framework that is established have sufficiently attractive economic and tax system to make these power stop the future prospects, our future -- our growth in the future is based, as I said before, is based on to offers more jobs to hundreds of thousands of people over the world, and we have become the biggest utility based on capitalization in Europe and one of the largest of the world and that we are reaching quotas that we couldn't even have dreamed of, well, that is a founding partner. So that is why I would like to finish by thanking you very much indeed for your continued support on my behalf and on behalf of the Board of Directors and also on behalf of the other people that have been working here for the other 124 years. Thank you very much.

And now we will put to vote the proposed resolutions. Regarding the provisional results of the votes, both the remote votes and the present votes have been counted as well as the proxies received through all the channels that we have made available to you. And after checking the votes and paying in the final checks, the procedures applied to adapt to the applicable regulations as well as the Governance and Sustainability System. I would also like to remind you that according to the shareholders' meeting regulations, the vote in favor of the proposals made by the Board are considered to be those related to all the shares present and represented whose vote -- regarding points 12 to 5 on the agenda, those directors that are conflicted will abstain from exercising the right to vote for the shares whose representation they hold. These voting rights will be exercised by the Secretary of the Board. And if I were conflicted by the Vice Secretary, we have both expressly accepted the designation. The issues are presented by groups, and we will state the vote obtained. A first group, where the annual accounts, the management report and an amendment to certain articles in the bylaws for, among other things, adapt our governance to the decentralized structure of the group to reinforce the commitment of society to sustainability and update and improve techniques under certain articles. And thirdly modify the regulations for the shareholders' meeting to continue to promote the engagement of shareholders in corporate life and the various initiatives to achieve this goal. In the third block, your authorization to pay the engagement dividend, the final dividend to capital increases within the framework of the Iberdrola flexible remuneration system and to offset the dilution in share capital, which we proposed reducing by 3.114%. We are also going to have a consultative vote on the annual report of director and executive remuneration. Fourthly, the reelection of Ángel Jesús Acebes Paniagua and Juan Manuel González Serna as well as ratification and reelection of Ana Colonques García-Planas, all of them as an independent directors. All three have stated their intention to accept the position after the meeting. We also request your approval to determine the number of members of the Board. And finally, we request your authorization to issue bonds and other fixed income securities that are nonredeemable or convertible into stock with a limit of EUR 8 billion for promissory notes and EUR 40 billion for other fixed income securities as well as to guarantee the issues of the subsidiaries and delegate powers to formalize and file the resolutions that are adopted. The final data on the votes will be published on the corporate website of the company.

According to the information that the panel has and that will be detailed in the minutes of the AGM and after counting the votes received regardless of those that have not been counted, all of the proposals formulated by the Board have been approved as you have just seen, as you can see on the screens. So on behalf of the Board, I would like to thank you very much for your participation and support. And here finishes the AGM. Thank you very much, and the session is now adjourned. Thank you. [Statements in English on this transcript were Spoken by an interpreter present on the live call.]