Engie posts 2016 losses

France’s utilities giant Engie posted EUR 400 million of net losses for 2016 on Thursday, mostly on account of EUR 3.8 billion of impairments linked to low power prices in Europe and new nuclear provisions in Belgium.

The company nevertheless did considerably better than in 2015, when it lost some EUR 4.6 billion, and said it reached its target with a net recurring income share of EUR 2.5 billion.

Total revenues for the year stood at EUR 66.6 billion, some EUR 3.3 billion less than in 2015, while EBITDA was EUR 10.7 billion, down EUR 600 million year-on-year.

In a statement, CEO Isabelle Kocher said the company was progressing faster than expected on its three-year transformation plan.

“In one year, we have already signed more than 50% of the planned disposals and identified 75% of the investments,” Kocher said.

“Our performance plan, ‘Lean 2018,’ is also progressing faster than expected, which enable us to raise its target by 20%. All these levers confirm our 2018 objective: become a more agile, less carbonised and low-risk profile Group, to be the leader of the energy transition in the world.”

Also on Thursday, Engie announced that it had signed an agreement to acquire for GBP 330 million the regeneration arm of Britain’s Keepmoat, thus becoming the top provider of regeneration services for local authorities in the country.

“Today, buildings account for approximately 30% of UK carbon emissions and we are convinced that with the addition of Keepmoat’s renovation expertise, we will be better able to support local authorities and cities in their transition to a lower carbon future,” said Kocher in a separate statement.

The news comes after Engie and Schneider Electric signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Tuesday to co-operate in developing new digital solutions to improve the efficiency of renewable energy sources including wind and solar.