Repsol sells British wind energy business

MADRID, Feb. 25 (UPI) -- After cutting investments by 20 percent, Spanish energy company Repsol said it was selling its entire British wind energy business to a Chinese counterpart.

SDIC Power of China purchased the Spanish energy company's British wind portfolio for $260 million. Both of Respol's wind holdings are off the eastern coast of Scotland and the sale is in line with what the company said was an emphasis on selling off its non-strategic assets.

As of Thursday, the Spanish company has unloaded more than $2.75 billion in assets in the last five months.

In a separate statement, the company said investments through 2017 would be lower by 20 percent. The company proposed a 40 percent reduction in dividends, the first since 2009, and took an impairment charge of $3.26 billion, which Repsol blamed in part on the collapse in energy prices.

Repsol said it took a net loss of $2.26 billion for the fourth quarter. Assets held by Talisman, a Canadian company acquired by Repsol, posted a smaller loss while adjusted net income increased by 25 percent.

In early October, the company said it was trimming about 1,500 employees from its payroll, following precedent that began in early 2015 as crude oil moved into a bear market. The reductions, which will be spread out over three years, represent about 6 percent of the total payroll.

Crude oil prices are trading near 10-year lows as supplies far outweigh demand. The Spanish energy company said it doubled its hydrocarbon production and "significantly" increased its reserves last year.