Recurring net profit exceeds 5 billion. The annual net profit, on the other hand, is 200 million euros, down after heavy provisions.
Lhe French energy giant Engie recorded strong growth in 2022, boosted by soaring energy and especially gas prices, but its net profit was reduced to almost zero under the effect of significant charges.
The supply of energy, and in particular natural gas, contributed the most to the group’s operating performance, with price records reached last year: the Engie division which operates in the energy markets brought in two billion euros more in its operating result. But thermal (gas power plants, +49.4%) and renewable energies (+36.6%) also made a significant contribution.
“In 2022, Engie achieved a solid financial and operational performance with an EBIT up sharply by 43% to 9 billion euros,” CEO Catherine MacGregor told reporters, referring to the organic growth of the company. operating result. Turnover jumped 62.2% compared to 2021, totaling 93.9 billion euros last year. The Engie share gained 4.96%, to 14.27 euros, around 9:30 a.m. Belgian time, in a stable market (-0.07%).
As with other global energy companies, Engie’s 2022 results benefited from the runaway energy prices, which followed the war in Ukraine and the gradual closure of Russian gas pipelines. Crazy prices, with a record average of 120 euros per megawatt hour (MWh) over the year for gas, almost 8 times the average for the 2016-2020 period, according to the International Energy Agency. Engie’s recurring net profit thus totaled 5.2 billion euros (compared to 2.9 billion in 2021), and the former GDF Suez is targeting 3.4 to 4 billion euros in 2023.
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But the group sees its net profit cut by 95% under the effect of heavy depreciation and provisions. It fell to 200 million euros, against 3.7 billion the previous year. The heaviest charge, at 3.7 billion euros, is due to the revaluation of future hedging contracts. In addition, 2.8 billion in losses in value, largely due to provisions for the future dismantling of its Belgian nuclear power plants, and a billion in credit lost in the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, never opened because of the war in Ukraine.
Objective 80 GW of renewables
With the gradual closure of Gazprom’s Russian gas pipelines, Engie, like other energy companies, has embarked on a race to diversify supplies, in gas transported by gas pipelines and in liquefied natural gas (LNG) transported by sea.
“We have played a crucial role in security of supply in France and Europe, by diversifying our gas contracts to cut our exposure to Russia, and by relying heavily on our regasification, transport and storage infrastructures” , underlined Catherine MacGregor. His group is the 3rd operator of LNG terminals in Europe, the gateways to LNG.
Engie has also chosen to withdraw from certain activities in order to be able to invest more quickly in renewables, its strategic priority. It thus sold its Equans multi-services business to Bouygues, with a significant capital gain. After commissioning 4 gigawatts (GW) of new renewable capacity in 2022, Engie, the leading wind and solar energy operator in France and the 4th European player, is aiming for annual growth of 4 GW to reach 80 GW in 2030 worldwide. .
In view of its performance, the group, which is nearly 24% owned by the French State, awarded its shareholders a dividend of 1.4 euros per share, up 65%. It also “redistributed” nearly 600 million euros to its employees around the world, by bonuses or profit-sharing, under “value sharing”, he specified.
