EDF Energy’s profits trebled in 2011, figures revealed today. The French utility firm reported a total income after tax of €3.01 billion (£2.5 billion), compared to €1.02 billion (£0.8 billion) in 2010.
EDF Energy said the growth was driven by a strong operating performance in France and the UK, up 6.3% and 8.5% respectively. After taking expenses into consideration its operating profit was up from €6.2 billion (£5.1 billion) to €8.3 billion (£6.9 billion).
Sales in the UK meanwhile dropped 8% from 9,496 in 2010 to 8,568 – which EDF Energy attributed to increased pressure from competition and a decline in the amount of gas used by customers due to mild weather.
Henry Proglio, chairman and chief executive of EDF, described the company’s 2011 results as ‘solid despite a troubled environment’.
‘In France and the United Kingdom, nuclear generation exceeded targets, underscoring the marked improvement in operating performance,’ he said. EDF Energy also cites the downward movement in wholesale prices as a significant factor.
With energy prices at an all-time high, consumer groups are unsurprisingly now calling for further price cuts.
EDF Energy was the first of the UK’s Big Six suppliers to pass on recent falls in wholesale prices to its customers, with a 5% cut to its gas prices from 7 February.
Audrey Gallacher, director of energy at Consumer Focus, however, said the fact that EDF Energy’s UK profits have risen despite lower energy use in the milder winter will leave many customers wondering whether energy prices can, and should, be cut further.
‘We need successful, profitable companies. But consumers need to know big profit margins are not being made needlessly at their expense,’ she said.
Richard Lloyd, executive director of Which? meanwhile said customers will no doubt be now questioning if they are paying a fair price.
‘The energy companies must raise their game,’ he warned.
Earlier this month Scottish and Southern Energy announced that it too expects to see an increase in profits for the financial year ending March 2012, as well as deliver an increase in dividend per share for investors, despite a reduction in consumption.
All of the Big Six energy giants announced cuts to their energy prices earlier this year. Though not one reduced both its gas and electricity prices and, according to consumer groups, the cuts did little to cancel out the damage caused by the double-digit price hikes from the previous year.
Meanwhile just yesterday energy giants were criticised yet again by consumer group Which? for duping customers into switching to a more expensive tariff.
Shares in EDF, which are listed on the French Cac, fell 2.3% on today’s news
