France's EDF posts first-half profit rise on higher output
Adds comments on Flamanville 3 and UK nuclear reactor projects, warning on EBITDA
By Forrest Crellin and Benjamin Mallet
PARIS, July 26 (Reuters) -EDF posted a 20.7% rise in first-half profit on Friday as the French state-owned utility raised its electricity production from its nuclear fleet and hydropower plants.
Net income rose to 7 billion euros ($7.60 billion) from 5.8 billion a year earlier.
The world's largest nuclear power plant operator, EDF has faced problems in recent years at its nuclear fleet including stress corrosion that impacted its output and saddled it with further debt.
The company, which was renationalised a year ago, has been able to return a good chunk of these reactors to production while its renewable holdings have also improved.
EDF's electricity production for the first half of the year totalled 259 terawatt-hours (TWh).
Output from nuclear rose to 177.4 TWh from 158.1 TWh a year earlier.
Nuclear power output in France for the full year is expected to be toward the top of a range of 314 to 345 TWh, excluding production from the new Flamanville 3 reactor, EDF said in its results posting.
The first nuclear reaction at Flamanville 3 is imminent and the unit will begin power production a few weeks afterwards, EDF said.
The reactor has been delayed by more than a decade with costs soaring from a planned 3 billion euros to 13.2 billion euros as of the end of 2022.
Despite reactors being brought back online, however, regional market prices have fallen, cutting into additional profitability.
The group warned that declining market prices would result in a significantly lower earnings before interest, tax, debt and amortisation (EBITDA) in the second half of 2024 than in 2023.
Its first-half EBITDA rose 16.1% to 18.7 billion euros.
The company said its net debt was stable at 54.2 billion euros.
In Britain, the company is continuing discussions with the newly elected Labour government regarding its Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C nuclear projects, , CEO Luc Remont told reporters, adding it is "a bit early" to give a date for a final investment decision on Sizewell.
($1 = 0.9216 euros)
European power prices have fallen sharply since the mid point in 2023 https://tmsnrt.rs/4bZxjLx
Reporting by Forrest Crellin and Benjamin Mallet; editing by Dominique Patton, Jason Neely and David Evans
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