EdF profits rise despite outages

Thursday, 21 February 2008

Electricité de France (EdF) enjoyed increases in income from normal operations in 2007, despite the unavailability of some of its nuclear capacity during the period. 

 

EdF's Belleville nuclear power plant (Image: Areva)

With 2007 sales of €59.6 billion ($87.9 billion), up 2.5% on 2006, the group's net income of €5.6 billion ($8.3 billion) was only 0.2% up on the previous year. However, net income from ordinary operations, at €4.7 billion ($6.9 billion), showed an increase of over 10%.

 

Sales in France, where the company earns over half of its income, were up despite lower availability of its generation capacity and higher maintenance costs. EdF's chief financial officer, Daniel Camus, told a press conference that the utilization rate of the company's 58 nuclear reactors was 80.2%, down on the 2006 figure of 83.6%, and described the unavailability of capacity as "significant". The company is reported to be planning to spend a further €800 million ($1.2 billion) on work on 16 of its reactors over the period to 2009.

 

EdF CEO Pierre Gaddoneix described 2007 as a year of major strategic development for the group on the international scene. Highlighting some of the steps taken in 2007, he went on to say: "In 2008, the group will pursue its investment dynamics in order to consolidate its European leadership and long-term competitive advantage, to promote renewable energies and eco-efficiency energy and to be a major long-term player in the worldwide revival of nuclear energy."

 

In July 2007, EdF launched a 50/50 joint venture with Constellation Energy Group with plans to build four of Areva's Evolutionary Pressurised Reactors (EPRs) in the USA. In late November, the company signed an agreement with China Guangdong Nuclear Power Company to own, build and operate two more EPRs. EdF also submitted a joint request with Areva for certification of the EPR design in the UK with the aim of developing four more EPR reactors.

 

Early in 2008, the company submitted a joint offer with Areva, Aveng and Bouygues for the first stage of construction of new nuclear capacity in South Africa. Gaddonneix also recently confirmed EdF's interest in buying Spain's second biggest power producer, Iberdrola.

In addition to its overseas projects, construction work formally began on the only reactor EdF is currently planning to build in France in November 2007 - an EPR at Flamanville.