French nuclear power operator EDF said that revenue dropped 2.2 percent in 2017, while core earnings fell 16.3 percent, blaming the declines on lower production brought about by reactor outages. This year, a rebound is expected, said the head of the company.
Earnings dropped to $17.18 billion from $20.42 in 2016, while revenue fell to $86.69 billion. Profits rose in the offing to $3.94 billion, up 11.3 percent.
In various media reports, the utility's Chief Executive Officer Jean-Bernard Levy said that production would “rebound” in 2018, then decline again in 2019.
Production is expected to jump to 395 terawatt-hours this year, up from 379.2 TWh in 2017, Reuters reported. Production, however, is likely to decline in 2019 due to the closure of the Fessenheim nuclear plant, although some of that loss should be made up by production from the brand new Flamanville Unit 3, which is nearing completion. Fuel is expected to be loaded into that unit in the final quarter of 2018.