Chain reaction

26 Nov 2020 By Christopher Thompson

The $44 bln state-owned utility has outperformed rivals in the last six months. A deal to secure higher nuclear prices would repair EDF’s main arm and enable CEO Jean-Bernard Levy to mull a renewable energy spinoff. That could boost the company’s value by over a half.

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Workers at French energy companies including EDF began stoppages on Nov. 26 after several labour unions called for protests against looming restructurings that could hit jobs.

The French government is working on a plan to ring-fence EDF’s nuclear arm from the rest of the power giant and is in talks with Brussels on the matter, which has raised concern among unions over the fallout for employees.

State-owned EDF said on Nov. 13 that the coronavirus pandemic had so far hit its sales by around 2 billion euros in the first nine months of the year, representing a year-on-year drop of 4%.

The company, which is 84% owned by the French government, said its third-quarter revenue came in at 14.1 billion euros, down 1.8% from a year earlier on a comparable basis. That followed a 4.9% decline in EDF’s revenue at the end of the six months to June.

The Covid-19 crisis has sapped electricity demand and weighed on nuclear energy output in France at a time when EDF, which carries a large debt pile, is bracing for an overhaul of the French regulatory framework covering its nuclear fleet.

The group reiterated a target to reach EBITDA of between 15.2 billion euros and 15.7 billion euros this year.

Shares in EDF were trading at 11.80 euros a share at 1441 GMT on Nov. 26.

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Regions

EDF bailout would nuke Macron’s market ambitions

Context News

Workers at French energy companies including EDF began stoppages on Nov. 26 after several labour unions called for protests against looming restructurings that could hit jobs.

State-owned EDF said on Nov. 13 that the coronavirus pandemic had so far hit its sales by around 2 billion euros in the first nine months of the year, representing a year-on-year drop of 4%.

The group reiterated a target to reach EBITDA of between 15.2 billion euros and 15.7 billion euros this year.

Shares in EDF were trading at 11.80 euros a share at 1441 GMT on Nov. 26.

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