French utility Engie's third-quarter earnings jump 18%
Adds guidance and comments on U.S. election
By Forrest Crellin
PARIS, Nov 7 (Reuters) -French utility Engie ENGIE.PA posted an 18% jump in third-quarter earnings on Thursday, citing strong renewable and hydropower output as well as increased profit from investments and infrastructure.
The company, which sells and trades electricity and gas, said third-quarter earnings before interest and tax (EBIT), excluding nuclear, reached 1.47 billion euros ($1.58 billion).
Shares in the company were up 1.3% by 1128 GMT.
Hydro, wind and solar all contributed to positive growth in Engie's renewables business, which was the biggest contributor to profit with 479 million euros, Engie said, up 48% year-on-year.
Strong hydro levels boosted output in France and Portugal, and also allowed its Flex Gen unit to store power in its batteries in Chile and Australia during periods of low prices and discharge back at peak hours.
Flex Gen had a third quarter profit of 358 million euros, but the fourth quarter is expected to be significantly below the same period in 2023 due to lower hedge prices, said CFO Pierre-Francois Riolacci.
Analysts at JP Morgan said they "expect the company to continue to demonstrate good execution and risk management, delivering on, if not exceeding, guidance over the coming years."
Engie is waiting to see if a moratorium is put on offshore wind projects by recently elected U.S. President Donald Trump, which could affect its three projects in development throughout the country.
The company remained positive about other renewable production projects though, which did well under Trump's last presidency, as market drivers are strongly favorable and good power purchase agreements (PPAs) will keep them profitable.
"At the end of the day in the U.S. what we have seen over the years is that the market wins, the market prevails. And so from that standpoint we are encouraged by the fact that the market and the demand continues to be strong for our projects," CEO Catherine MacGregor said.
The company's board of directors unanimously proposed its intention to reappoint Catherine MacGregor as CEO in September.
($1 = 0.9299 euros)
Reporting by Forrest Crellin
Editing by Himani Sarkar, David Goodman and Sharon Singleton
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