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(Bloomberg) — Engie SA reported lower first-quarter earnings after a warm winter cut gas demand in France, while nuclear power sales were squeezed by the shutdown of reactors in Belgium.
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Earnings before interest and taxes fell 15% from a year earlier to €3.52 billion ($4.14 billion), the French utility said Thursday.
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Engie is seeking to offset its exposure to French gas assets and capitalize on an expected surge in electricity demand by investing in wind, solar and battery storage worldwide. The company is due to complete its acquisition of a UK power-distribution network later Thursday — almost two months ahead of schedule — underscoring its efforts to retreat more broadly from fossil fuels.
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The utility has also been cutting costs to help counter a loss of earnings from Belgium, where the closure of three reactors last year left it with just two in the country. Engie is now in talks to sell its entire Belgian nuclear business to the state to focus on assets with more predictable income and expenses.
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Excluding its nuclear activities, quarterly Ebit declined 8.4%, the firm said in a statement.
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Engie stuck to its full-year profit forecast, citing the expansion of its renewables division and lower costs across the group. It also announced an agreement to sell stakes in gas-fired power plants in Qatar, following similar deals in the region last year.
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Iran War
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Despite the continuing war in the Middle East, the company said its gas customers haven’t seen any disruption to supply because it gets the fuel from a wide range of sources.
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Engie is also sticking with plans to develop renewable-energy projects in the region, where tenders and construction are continuing, Chief Financial Officer Pierre-Francois Riolacci said on a conference call.
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In the US, where the Trump administration has moved to halt or slow renewable developments, the CFO said it’s “difficult” to get permits for onshore wind, while solar and battery-storage projects are growing amid “very strong” demand.
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(Updates with CFO comments in final two paragraphs.)
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English (US)