Engie Profit Edges Down 0.9% As Utility Shuts a Nuclear Plant in Belgium and Hydropower Output Slips

The Engie headquarters in Paris. Photo by Benjamin Girette /Bloomberg

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(Bloomberg) — Engie SA said first-quarter profit slipped 0.9% amid lower energy prices, declining market volatility and a drop in nuclear and hydropower generation.

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The results reflect the permanent shutdown of a reactor in Belgium — where two more units are due to close by year’s end — as well as weaker hydro output in France and Portugal. Receding power prices also weighed on earnings even as cold winter weather drove up natural gas sales in Europe. 

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Earnings before interest and taxes slid to €4.13 billion ($4.62 billion) from €4.17 billion a year earlier, Engie said in a statement. It reiterated a forecast for net recurring income of €4.4 billion to €5 billion this year, despite an “uncertain economic environment.”

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The utility, which controls France’s largest gas network, is investing in solar and wind energy as well as battery storage, power lines and renewable gases as the country retreats from fossil fuels. The company had 51.6 gigawatts of renewable and storage capacity in operation at the end of March, and said Thursday it remains on track to add an average of 7 gigawatts a year.

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The shares rose as much as 2.2% to €18.07 at the open in Paris, before erasing gains to trade little changed.

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US Renewables

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Engie also has 2 gigawatts of projects under construction in the US. It said they’re protected from the Trump administration’s tariff onslaught “to a very large extent” as the company has adjusted its supply chain and increased local sourcing for batteries and solar modules.

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Nevertheless, the utility has “slowed” approvals for future US solar and battery projects as it awaits clarity on duties, Chief Financial Officer Pierre-Francois Riolacci said on a conference call. It’s “serene over the long term” with regard to renewables in the US, saying electricity demand remains “very strong.”

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In Belgium, the company is forming a joint venture with the government to operate the country’s two remaining nuclear reactors for another 10 years after signing a deal to prolong their life. The two units may contribute as much as €150 million to annual Ebit in the coming decade, though summer maintenance works will peak over the next four years, the CFO said.

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(Updates with shares in fifth paragraph, company comments starting in sixth.)

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