Engie Q1 profits down

French utility and LNG player Engie posted a drop in its profits in the first quarter of this year due to lower gas and power prices.

Engie said in a statement on Friday its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) dropped 1.7 percent to 3.5 billion euros ($4 billion), while revenue fell 14.3 percent to 18.9 billion euros.

“This decrease is notably due to the drop in commodity prices which impact exploration/production activities, commercialization activities, gas and LNG purchase/sale activities and power production activities as well as to the mild temperatures in France over the first quarter while the first quarter of 2015 had been slightly cold,” Engie said.

However, current operating income increased by 0.4 percent to 2.4 billion euros due to the “positive impact on depreciations from impairments booked in 2015”.

Revenues for the segments Global Energy Management and LNG on the one hand, and exploration-production on the other hand, decreased by 45 percent and by 16 percent on a gross basis, respectively, due to the drop in oil and gas prices, Engie said.

LNG World News Staff