SmartestEnergy: Twenty-Nine Billion to TenThin moat

Marubeni (8002) — moat facet

SmartestEnergy's profit fell by two-thirds in a year, which shows how thin a power retailer's spread can be.

SmartestEnergy, the British power retailer and aggregator Marubeni founded in 20011, is third in the UK for retail power sales to large consumers2. As a platform — wholesale and retail power across the UK, the US and Australia — it earned adjusted net profit of ¥10.0 billion in the year to March 2026, down from ¥29.0 billion3. SmartestEnergy's own reported profit fell from ¥23.5 billion to ¥7.1 billion4.

Power retail platform, adjusted net profit (¥ bn)29.0Yr to Mar 202510.0Yr to Mar 202622.0ForecastMarubeni IR presentation, May 2026
A two-thirds fall in a year, and a forecast recovery.

Power retail is a spread business: buy wholesale, sell to customers at fixed or indexed prices, and manage the gap. When wholesale prices move sharply, the spread can collapse. Marubeni is still adding to it, buying 85% of Factor Energia, a power and gas retailer in Spain and Latin America, through SmartestEnergy5.

The platform sits inside the Power & Infrastructure Services segment, whose consolidated operating result was a loss of ¥25.1 billion in the year to March 20266 — much of the segment's operating weakness is the power retailer's. The segment's power plants, held largely through associates, earned the profit.

The measure is the platform's recovery. The company forecasts ¥22.0 billion for the year to March 20277; a second weak year would say the 2025 profit was the exception.

Moat trajectory: Narrowing

Profit fell from ¥29.0 billion to ¥10.0 billion; a recovery to ¥22.0 billion is forecast but not delivered.

The number that tests this moat
Reported
Wholesale and retail power platform adjusted net profit
¥10.0bn against ¥29.0bn

A two-thirds fall; recovery to the forecast ¥22.0 billion would restore it.

Source: Marubeni full-year IR presentation, May 2026 ↗
⚠ Threats to the moat
⚠ THREAT 01
Power Retail Is a Price Business
SmartestEnergy kept its market position and lost two-thirds of its profit, which says the position is not the moat.
References
  1. ReportedSmartestEnergy, the British power retailer and aggregator Marubeni founded in 2001, is third in the UK for retail power sales to large consumers.
    Marubeni Integrated Report 2026, introduction and At a Glance - the company history from 1858 and the market positions the company states for its businesses. — 2026 · publ. 2026 · source ↗
  2. ReportedSmartestEnergy, the British power retailer and aggregator Marubeni founded in 2001, is third in the UK for retail power sales to large consumers.
    Marubeni Integrated Report 2026, introduction and At a Glance - the company history from 1858 and the market positions the company states for its businesses. — 2026 · publ. 2026 · source ↗
  3. ReportedAs a platform — wholesale and retail power across the UK, the US and Australia — it earned adjusted net profit of ¥10.0 billion in the year to March 2026, down from ¥29.0 billion.
    Marubeni Corporation, full-year IR presentation for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2026 - Core Strategic Platform Businesses: adjusted net profit, ROIC, forecasts and growth rates of each platform, and the portfolio ROIC by resources and non-resources. — FY to March 2026 · publ. 1 May 2026 · source ↗
  4. ReportedSmartestEnergy's own reported profit fell from ¥23.5 billion to ¥7.1 billion.
    Marubeni Corporation, full-year IR presentation for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2026 - net profit of major group companies by segment, with ownership and business descriptions. — FY to March 2026 · publ. 1 May 2026 · source ↗
  5. ReportedMarubeni is still adding to it, buying 85% of Factor Energia, a power and gas retailer in Spain and Latin America, through SmartestEnergy.
    Marubeni Corporation, full-year IR presentation for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2026 - net profit of major group companies by segment, with ownership and business descriptions. — FY to March 2026 · publ. 1 May 2026 · source ↗
  6. ReportedThe platform sits inside the Power & Infrastructure Services segment, whose consolidated operating result was a loss of ¥25.1 billion in the year to March 2026 — much of the segment's operating weakness is the power retailer's.
    Marubeni Corporation, Summary of Consolidated Financial Results for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2026 (IFRS) - consolidated statements of profit or loss, financial position and cash flows, the segment note on the ten operating segments with revenue, gross trading profit, operating profit, share of profit of associates, net profit and segment assets, the investments in associates by segment, the one-time items including the Daiichi Life real-estate valuation gain, the dividend and buyback record, and the forecast for the year to March 2027 with its assumptions. — FY to March 2026 · publ. 1 May 2026 · source ↗
  7. ReportedThe company forecasts ¥22.0 billion for the year to March 2027; a second weak year would say the 2025 profit was the exception.
    Marubeni Corporation, full-year IR presentation for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2026 - net profit of major group companies by segment, with ownership and business descriptions. — FY to March 2026 · publ. 1 May 2026 · source ↗
Sources
Generated September 24, 2026