Helleniq Energy Slideshow: Refining Margins, Renewables Spend

Helleniq Energy Holdings released a slide deck Thursday that gave investors a look at its strategy through the end of the decade. The presentation, filed with the SEC, covers the Greek refiner's plans for its core refining business and its push into renewables.

The slides show Helleniq targeting a reduction in its carbon footprint by 30% by 2030, relative to 2019 levels. That target is tied to a capital expenditure plan that allocates roughly €1.2 billion to renewable energy projects over the next four years. The company is building a 1-gigawatt portfolio of solar and wind assets, with a goal of reaching 2 GW by 2030.

On the refining side, the deck highlights the company's focus on upgrading its Aspropyrgos and Elefsina refineries. Helleniq expects the upgrades to improve conversion margins and allow it to process a wider range of crude grades. The company said the investments should boost its Nelson complexity index, a measure of refinery sophistication, to 12.5 from the current 11.8.

Helleniq's refining margins have been under pressure from weaker demand in Europe and increased competition from new capacity in the Middle East and Asia. The company's benchmark refining margin for the first half of 2026 averaged $4.50 a barrel, down from $6.20 in the same period last year. The slide deck did not provide a full-year margin forecast.

The renewables push is a response to that pressure. Helleniq is aiming to generate 25% of its EBITDA from renewable energy and power trading by 2028, up from roughly 5% today. The company has secured land permits for 800 megawatts of solar capacity in Greece and is developing another 400 MW in Romania and Bulgaria.

Helleniq also outlined its debt reduction plan. Net debt stood at €1.8 billion at the end of the first quarter, down from €2.1 billion a year earlier. The company said it aims to cut that to €1.2 billion by 2028, partly through asset sales and partly through free cash flow from the refining business.

The slide deck did not include a dividend policy update. Helleniq suspended its dividend in 2020 during the pandemic and has not reinstated it. The company said it would revisit the policy once net debt falls below €1.5 billion.

Helleniq shares trade on the OTC market under the ticker HLPXF. The stock is down 12% year to date, underperforming the broader European energy sector, which has fallen 6% over the same period.