Engie says it can replace Russian gas if supplies halt
ENGIE SAYS CAN SUBSTITUTE RUSSIAN GAS IF DELIVERIES STOP
PARIS (Reuters) – Engie on Friday published significantly higher results for the first half of 2022, which was marked by very high energy prices amid war in Ukraine, and said it was confident of ensuring replacement of Russian gas in Ukraine in the event of a supply interruption.
The leading gas utility in France said in a press release that it had reduced its exposure to Gazprom’s winter 2022-2023 supply volumes from a maximum of 15 terawatt hours (TWh) to around 4 TWh, thanks in particular to alternatives through gas pipelines and the reinforced ones Use of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
“Today we have secured all the volumes we would need to supply our customers with a small residual volume of 4% (Russian gas) ultimately fully within the flexibility margin of our portfolio, so we are not at all concerned about those amounts ‘ CEO Catherine MacGregor said in a news conference.
“The demand for gas has fallen among our customers, whether private individuals, but also small companies and large industrialists,” she also emphasized.
“If there were a scenario of a Russian gas blackout over the winter, we could fully absorb what few percent we still had to find.”
Gas storage in France is now 77% full in terms of Engie volume, foreshadowing a “fairly optimistic start to the autumn” on the subject, also suggested by Catherine MacGregor.
Engie also expressed confidence for the winter of 2023-2024 that “the additional volumes contracted from new sources of supply, including LNG, accompanied by a reduction in demand, will make it possible to meet Russia’s gas needs and reach storage levels “.
NET INCOME OF €5.0 BILLION IN THE FIRST HALF
The group, which adjusted its results for the first half of 2021 to reflect the ongoing sale of Equans, reported a group share of net income of 5.0 billion euros (compared to 2.3 billion euros) at the end of June Recurring net income Group share of 3.2 billion (vs. 1.3 billion), an ebitda of 7.5 billion (+44%) and sales of 43.2 billion (+72%).
The stock Engie is down 1% at 07:10 GMT on the Paris Stock Exchange at 12.18 euros.
At the same time, Engie presented two new consumer support programmes, with the implementation of an additional aid of an average of 100 euros for its 880,000 customers benefiting from the energy check and the creation of a support fund of 60 million, in particular for SMEs in difficulty, on top of the “tariff shield” introduced by the government “.
The gas and electricity supplier, which bets on renewable energies, decentralized energy infrastructure and even “green” gas, has now confirmed its targets for 2022, which include in particular a recurring net result, group share, of between 3.8 and 4.4 billion euros contain a scenario of stopping Russian gas supplies.
If market conditions and the pricing environment as of June 30 continued in the second half of the year, it said there would be an “additional contribution” of 0.7 billion euros to net recurring earnings, Group share.
However, Engie has had to downgrade the valuation of its 9% stake in Nord Stream 1, which has been reduced by €259 million compared to December 31, 2021. In relation to Nord Stream 2, as of March 31, the company recorded a credit loss on its entire commitment of €987 million.
(Report by Benjamin Mallet; edited by Kate Entringer)
