Latest news with #CatherineMacGregor
Reuters
01-08-2025
- Business
- Reuters
France's Engie optimistic on US renewables projects, after lower energy prices dent earnings
PARIS, Aug 1 - French utility Engie ( opens new tab plans to move forward with its existing wind, solar and battery projects in the United States despite President Donald Trump rolling back subsidies, its CEO said on Friday. Europe's largest gas network operator reported a 9.4% fall in first-half earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT), excluding nuclear, to 5.1 billion euros ($5.82 billion) due to lower energy prices. "These results are solid in normalising market conditions and in an uncertain economic and geopolitical context," CEO Catherine MacGregor said. After reviewing its project pipeline in the U.S. - a major growth market for Engie, where it holds 8 Gigawatts (GW) of renewables - the group will continue building 1.1 GW of projects that have already received final investment decisions. "Our clients and counterparties in the U.S. have adapted to the new market reality, notably by adding contractual clauses that better share residual risks, which will allow us to proceed with these three projects with confidence," MacGregor told journalists on a call. Engie will also work to reduce the number of Chinese-made parts in its supply chain in a bid to keep benefiting from U.S. tax credits. It could lose other U.S. subsidies for early-stage renewable projects if a decision on tightening the definition of the start of construction, expected later this month, means Engie is deemed to have begun building after 2025. MacGregor said Engie would be more cautious when making FIDs in the U.S., but she remained hopeful that rising power demand would create additional opportunities for renewables. If necessary, Engie has options to build in other countries to meet its growth targets, she added. Engie shares fell as much as 8% before paring early losses to stand 2% lower at 19.20 euros by 1142 GMT, with analysts at Barclays pointing to the company confirming rather than raising its 2025 guidance. The shares are up 28% year-to-date. Engie, which is exiting nuclear and coal to focus on natural gas and renewables, expects EBIT, excluding nuclear, of between 8 billion and 9 billion euros this year, and a group share of net recurring income between 4.4 billion and 5 billion euros. Colder weather and higher transportation and usage tariffs boosted natural gas distribution in the first half, with earnings from energy infrastructure activities up 38% to 1.9 billion euros. But it failed to offset a fall in energy production and sales caused by lower prices, less rainfall and nuclear outages. Energy management and sales fell 32% to 1.5 billion euros, as energy prices normalised after a better-than-usual 2024, CFO Pierre-Francois Riolacci said. EBIT at Engie's batteries and power production unit fell 13.4% to 1.98 billion euros. In March, the company finalised an agreement with Belgium, to transfer its two newest nuclear reactors into a joint venture to operate through 2035, with waste-related liability falling on the state. Its two other operational reactors in the country will be retired by year-end. ($1 = 0.8757 euros)
Reuters
01-08-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Engie's first-half profit falls on lower gas price
PARIS, Aug 1 - French utility Engie ( opens new tab posted a 9.4% fall in half-year earnings on Friday, as higher income from natural gas distribution failed to offset lower energy prices and hydropower production. Europe's largest gas network operator said first-half earnings before interest and tax (EBIT), excluding nuclear, came to 5.1 billion euros ($5.82 billion), compared to 5.6 billion euros a year earlier. Engie shares fell as much as 8% in early market trading before paring losses to 4.1% to stand at 18.81 euros by 0755 GMT. The shares are up 23% year-to-date. Barclays analysts said in an investor note they expected a negative market reaction after Engie reconfirmed rather than raised its 2025 guidance on the back of strong results. Engie reconfirmed 2025 guidance of EBIT, excluding nuclear, in a range of 8 billion euros to 9 billion euros, and the group's share of net recurring income of between 4.4 billion euros and 5 billion euros. "These results are solid in normalising market conditions and in an uncertain economic and geopolitical context," Engie CEO Catherine MacGregor said. Engie said last month that a colder 2025 had resulted in an increase of 6.5 terawatt-hours (TWh) of gas distributed versus the prior year. However, that was tempered by a 2.1 TWh drop in French hydropower production due to less rain, and a 2.2 TWh drop in nuclear production, after Belgium permanently retired Engie's Doel 1 nuclear plant in February and took the Tihange 3 plant offline in April for life-extension upgrades. Engie has sought in recent years to exit the nuclear business, refocus on its core natural gas holdings and reinvest the profits into renewables. The lower rainfall affected profit at the group's renewables and flexible power unit, which includes batteries and gas-fired power plants as well as hydropower plants, with EBIT down 13.4% to 1.98 billion euros in the first half. Engie said it continues to invest in new projects, and is moving ahead with three wind and solar projects that have already received a final investment decision in the United States, after President Donald Trump signed the annual U.S. budget into law. "Our clients and counterparties in the U.S. have adapted to the new market reality, notably by adding contractual clauses that better share residual risks, which will allow us to proceed with these three projects with confidence in the coming weeks and months," MacGregor told journalists on a call. U.S. projects at earlier stages are being treated more cautiously, however, as certain green tax credits under the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act have been rolled back, increasing costs, she said. ($1 = 0.8757 euros)
Reuters
01-08-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Engie first-half profit falls on lower gas price
PARIS, Aug 1 - French utility Engie ( opens new tab posted a 9.4% fall in half-year earnings on Friday, as higher income from natural gas distribution failed to offset lower energy prices and hydropower production. Europe's largest gas network operator said first-half earnings before interest and tax (EBIT), excluding nuclear, came to 5.1 billion euros ($5.82 billion), compared to 5.6 billion euros a year earlier. "These results are solid in normalising market conditions and in an uncertain economic and geopolitical context," said CEO Catherine MacGregor. Engie said last month that a colder 2025 had resulted in an increase of 6.5 terawatt-hours (TWh) of gas distributed versus the prior year. However, that was tempered by a 2.1 TWh drop in French hydropower production due to less rain, and a 2.2 TWh drop in nuclear production, after Belgium permanently retired Engie's Doel 1 nuclear plant in February and took the Tihange 3 plant offline in April for life-extension upgrades. Engie has sought in recent years to exit the nuclear business, refocus on its core natural gas holdings and reinvest the profits into renewables. The lower rainfall affected profit at the group's renewables and flexible power unit, which includes batteries and gas-fired power plants as well as hydropower plants, with EBIT down 13.4% to 1.98 billion euros in the first half. Engie said it continues to invest in new projects, and is moving ahead with three wind and solar projects that have already received a final investment decision in the United States, after President Donald Trump signed the annual U.S. budget into law. "Our clients and counterparties in the U.S. have adapted to the new market reality, notably by adding contractual clauses that better share residual risks, which will allow us to proceed with these three projects with confidence in the coming weeks and months," MacGregor told journalists on a call. U.S. projects at earlier stages are being treated more cautiously, however, as certain green tax credits under the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act have been rolled back, increasing costs, she said. ($1 = 0.8757 euros)
Reuters
01-08-2025
- Business
- Reuters
France's Engie posts 9.4% drop in first-half earnings
PARIS, Aug 1 - French utility Engie ( opens new tab posted a 9.4% fall in half-year earnings on Friday, as higher income from natural gas distribution failed to offset lower energy prices and hydropower production. The company reported first-half earnings before interest and tax (EBIT), excluding nuclear, of 5.1 billion euros ($5.82 billion), compared to 5.6 billion euros a year ago. "These results are solid in normalising market conditions and in an uncertain economic and geopolitical context," said CEO Catherine MacGregor. Europe's largest gas network operator said last month that a colder 2025 had resulted in a boost of 6.5 Terawatt-hours (TWh) of gas distributed and sold to clients versus the prior year. However that was tempered by a 2.1 TWh drop in French hydropower production due to less rain, and a 2.2 TWh drop in nuclear production, after Belgium permanently retired Engie's Doel 1 nuclear plant in February and took the Tihange 3 plant offline in April for life-extension upgrades. Engie has sought in recent years to exit the nuclear business, refocus on its core natural gas holdings and reinvest the profits into renewables. The company is moving ahead with three wind and solar projects in the U.S., after President Donald Trump finalised the annual budget providing clarity on energy policy, MacGregor told journalists. "The clients and U.S. market remain very promising," she said, adding that projections for data centre buildout cannot be done without a large amount of renewable energy projects. ($1 = 0.8757 euros)
Bloomberg
23-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Engie Says French Renewables Ban Could Endanger €5 Billion Plan
A moratorium on new renewables projects included in an energy law under discussion in France is endangering €5 billion ($5.8 billion) of solar and wind projects that Engie SA is considering over the next 10 years, according to Chief Executive Officer Catherine MacGregor. 'This moratorium on wind and solar projects is both absurd and a disaster,' MacGrgegor said on Monday at an event on the Yeu island off the French Atlantic coast. 'We can't handle stop and go' in an industry that requires long-term planning, she said.
