The French energy company Engie has reported an increase in earnings and revenues as it moves towards more low carbon energy.
The firm’s first half of 2017 results, which were published today, show revenue increased by 2.6 per cent on an organic basis to €33.1 billion in the first six months of the year, compared to €32.6 billion in the same time period last year.
Earnings before interest, taxes and amortisation (EBITA) rose by 4 per cent on an organic basis to €5 billion.
The company said EBITA in Europe, excluding France and the Benelux countries, was up 16 per cent due to better margins in its British hydro power plants, as well as better weather conditions in Romania.
Engie’s chief executive officer Isabelle Kocher said 90 per cent of the company’s EBITA now comes from low carbon generation, infrastructures and customer solutions.
“These solid and encouraging results are the fruit of our commitment of our teams all over the world,” said Kocher.
“They prove the progress we have made at every level in our three-year transformation plan. They also allow us to confirm the targets set for 2017 and the group’s strategic choices to secure its future growth.”
The results are in stark contrast with those of EDF, which were also published today and reveal a slump in earnings both in the UK and across the company as a while.
In May, Engie entered the British home energy business with a commitment to put all customers onto their cheapest tariff whenever their fixed-term contracts end.
The move into the UK domestic market has been mooted for a number of years and was officially acknowledged in early 2016.
The most recent step towards launching the new city energy services portfolio was Engie’s acquisition of Doncaster-based Keepmoat – a specialist in urban regeneration services – for £330m in March this year.