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EARNINGS

Energy giant EON earns €3 billion in first half of 2008

German utilities giant EON made a profit of more than three billion euros in the first six months of the year, it said on Wednesday, as it reaped the benefit of higher electricity prices.

Published: 13 August 2008 16:02 CEST
Energy giant EON earns €3 billion in first half of 2008
Photo: DPA

The eight percent increase in net income to €3.3 billion ($4.9 billion) was even higher than expected, with analysts expecting €3.2 billion.

The company, which has operations across Europe, also reported better-than-expected operating profit of €5.8 billion, up six percent. Sales rose 16 percent to €41.2 billion.

EON also raised its net profit forecast for the year, saying it now expects 2008 net profit to be between five and ten percent higher than in 2007 – up from its earlier forecast of only a slight rise.

“We now have a European platform for profitable, primarily organic growth that’s unmatched by any other company in our industry,” EON said. “Our investments in new power plants across Europe will enable us to systematically seize the earnings and growth opportunities of European energy markets.”

BUSINESS

France’s EDF hails €10billion profit, despite huge UK nuclear charge

French energy giant EDF has unveiled net profit of €10billion and cut its massive debt by increasing nuclear production after problems forced some plants offline.

Published: 16 February 2024 10:45 CET
France's EDF hails €10billion profit, despite huge UK nuclear charge

EDF hailed an “exceptional” year after its loss of €17.9billion in 2022.

Sales slipped 2.6 percent to €139.7billion , but the group managed to slice debt by €10billion euros to €54.4billion.

EDF said however that it had booked a €12.9 billion depreciation linked to difficulties at its Hinkley Point nuclear plant in Britain.

The charge includes €11.2 billion for Hinkley Point assets and €1.7billion at its British subsidiary, EDF Energy, the group explained.

EDF announced last month a fresh delay and additional costs for the giant project hit by repeated cost overruns.

“The year was marked by many events, in particular by the recovery of production and the company’s mobilisation around production recovery,” CEO Luc Remont told reporters.

EDF put its strong showing down to a strong operational performance, notably a significant increase in nuclear generation in France at a time of historically high prices.

That followed a drop in nuclear output in France in 2022. The group had to deal with stress corrosion problems at some reactors while also facing government orders to limit price rises.

The French reactors last year produced around 320.4 TWh, in the upper range of expectations.

Nuclear production had slid back in 2022 to 279 TWh, its lowest level in three decades, because of the corrosion problems and maintenance changes after
the Covid-19 pandemic.

Hinkley Point C is one of a small number of European Pressurised Reactors (EPRs) worldwide, an EDF-led design that has been plagued by cost overruns
running into billions of euros and years of construction delays.

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