By Forrest Crellin
PARIS (Reuters) – French utility Engie raised its 2025 profit forecast on Thursday, sending its shares up by 6% in morning trading to their highest in almost a decade.
Engie is Europe’s largest gas network operator and has a growing renewable energy business in the United States.
On Thursday, it posted a 6.2% fall in 2024 operating profit excluding nuclear, due to a decline in gas prices, the impact of an energy tax in France and a decrease in gas-fired power plant usage in Europe.
But it also raised its outlook for 2025.
Engie said that due to reduced volatility, lower energy prices and a better-than-expected financial result for the full year in 2024, it was increasing its forecast for recurring net income this year to a range of 4 billion euros to 4.5 billion euros ($4.19 billion – $4.71 billion), up from a previous range of 3 billion euros to 4.5 billion euros.
Engie also said it now expects its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT), excluding nuclear, in 2025 at 8 billion euros to 9 billion euros, raised from an expected 7.9 billion euros to 8.9 billion euros that it forecast in early 2024.
“With consensus below the bottom end of net income for the coming years, we think this guidance will come as a positive surprise,” said analysts from JP Morgan in an online note.
Hydro, wind and solar all helped Engie’s renewables business post positive growth in 2024. The segment contributed a profit of 2.2 billion euros to Engie’s overall result, the company said, up 9.6% year-on-year.
The group also reported a record level of installed renewable capacity in 2024, with 4.2 gigawatts (GW) added across four operating regions, putting total installed capacity to 46 GW.
Meanwhile, European gas prices fell over the course of the year as mild temperatures and strong renewable output reduced demand.
A deal with the Belgian government to extend the lifespan of two of its Belgian nuclear reactors is expected to be concluded by March 14, said CEO Catherine MacGregor.
The Belgian government is also interested in developing plans to build more nuclear reactors in the future.
“At this point there is no plan to add nuclear reactors… There is, in our mind, little chance for such feasibility… but obviously we’ll discuss and hear what they have to say,” MacGregor said.
($1 = 0.9546 euros)
(Reporting by Forrest Crellin; additional reporting by Federica Mileo and Diana Mandia; Editing by Ingrid Melander and Sharon Singleton)
