how to explain the net profit of 10 billion euros made by the electrician

The company is making a good comeback after having had a deficit close to 18 billion in 2022. The activity recorded during the year 2023 allowed a reduction in debt.

The French electricity giant EDF ended the year 2023 in the green, with a positive net result of 10 billion euros. Figures published Friday February 16. In the words of EDF CEO Luc Rémont, 2023 is the year of “operational recovery”, after 2022, “year of all evils”, marked by a major industrial crisis caused in particular by the energy situation linked to the war in Ukraine. The pricing provisions imposed by the State to protect consumers from rising prices had also profoundly affected the company’s operations and, therefore, its finances. The year 2023 allowed us to turn the page, but the boss, Luc Rémont, wants to keep a cool head, because the challenges ahead are numerous and very heavy.

EDF’s good results in 2023 can be explained by a recovery in all of the group’s operations, from electricity production with a ramp-up of nuclear power plants, to the availability of the distribution network despite storms. Note the mobilization of technicians and other EDF employees, since, during these events, 90% of affected customers were reconnected in four days. This may seem like a long time, but it has never been done given the scale of the disasters. Finally, the company had good control of production despite the always drastic safety controls of nuclear power plants.

Debt reduction

This addition of factors meant that activity supported the results and, this is the other good news for the public group, it allowed a reduction in debt. This went from 64.5 billion euros in 2022 to 54.5 billion, or 10 billion euros less over one year. The recovery in activity, and therefore profits, and the renegotiation of pricing conditions with the State, made it possible to reduce the bill with the banks, even if the latter, at 54 billion euros, remains steep. The atmosphere is therefore more serene, but there are still many construction sites.

EDF plans investments of 25 billion euros per year over the next 15 years, to support the energy transition. The group’s ambition is to achieve perfect electrification, namely decarbonization and the supply of charging stations for electric cars, which are expected to become more and more numerous. The growing need for energy remains a source of hope for the CEO of EDF, while individuals and businesses make efforts to consume energy in a more appropriate way.