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Energy firm EnBW sells Polish assets

German energy supplier EnBW said on Wednesday it had agreed to sell its shareholdings in two Polish power plants to French giant EdF for €301 million ($395 million).

Energy firm EnBW sells Polish assets
Photo: DPA

Under the terms of the deal, EdF – which was EnBW’s majority shareholder until February this year – will acquire the German company’s 32.45-percent stake in a coal-fired power station in Rybnik in southern Poland and a 15.59-percent holding in the Kogeneracja combined heat and power plant in Wroclaw.

The sale, which was still subject to antitrust approval, was part of a drive to divest business operations “that are no longer strategically relevant and outside out international target markets,” EnBW said.

The divestment “will reinforce our financial strength and provide us with important financial headroom to allow us to increase our investment in the new energy concept,” said chief executive Hans-Peter Villis.

In a bid to cut carbon emissions, EnBW is investing heavily in the expansion of renewable energies and modernising its power plants.

With the acquisition, EdF will raise its stakes in the Rybnik power plant to 97.34 percent and in Kogeneracja to 50 percent plus one share, the French giant said in a separate statement.

“This acquisition will allow EdF to pursue its strategy of development and integration in Poland … opening up €3.0-5.0 million in new operational synergies each year.”

AFP/mry

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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.

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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