France: GDF Suez H1 Earnings Drop

GDF Suez of France said its Global Gas & LNG business line reported a decline in Ebitda of -23.9% to EUR 1,076 million in the first half of this year.

This variation was due to lower production in Exploration & Production activity, impacted in particular by a period of repair and maintenance work at the Snøhvit and Njord field in Norway and, to a lesser extent, to adverse commodity price movements, the company revealed.

GDF SUEZ reported revenues of EUR 42.6 billion for first half of 2013, a gross decrease of -1.5% but an increase of +1.9% organic growth. Ebitda reached EUR 7.6 billion, a gross decrease of -6.6% and an organic of -2.6%. The impact on Ebitda of favorable weather is estimated at EUR +369 million whereas the impact of the Belgian nuclear plants outage is estimated at EUR -318 million.

Recurring net income, Group share decreased by -1.7% to EUR 2.4 billion. Net income, Group share, amounts to EUR 1.7 billion, in decrease in comparison to June 30, 2012, mainly due to impairments taken on certain assets and goodwill mostly in Europe for a net amount of EUR 441 million.

The Group continued its developments during the first half with a gross capex of EUR 3.3 billion. 46% of the growth capex were directed towards fast growing countries.

Reporting on first half results, Gérard Mestrallet, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of GDF SUEZ, stated: “In a challenging environment, especially in Europe, the Group’s strong operating performance demonstrates our resilience. GDF SUEZ rapidly implemented its Perform 2015 action plan to accelerate its transformation and better meet the energy sector’s new challenges. The Group has made good progress in its asset optimization program while dynamically developing new operations mainly in high-growth markets, as identified in its strategic objectives. Finally, through numerous industrial partnerships with leading international players, the Group is reinforcing its capacity to undertake major, large-scale projects.”

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LNG World News Staff, August 1, 2013