French energy giant EdF, with a massive €17.9bn loss last year, is particularly disappointing, making it one of the worst-losers in the country’s modern business history. This group also includes two telecommunications groups: Vivendi with a loss of 23.3 billion euros and France Telecom with 20.7 billion euros. Constantly suffering from an energy crisis and expensive fuel, as well as technical problems at its nuclear reactors, its productivity has fallen to a 34-year low in 2022. Because of these problems and the shutdown of some reactors, EdF was forced to buy energy on the market for the first time in decades at very high prices.

However, its chief executive, Luc Remont, promised to return the French energy group to profitability. In addition, the group’s profits were also affected by government measures to curb rising electricity bills for French households and protect them from escalating inflation. EdF, which is in the process of being completely nationalized due to the difficult economic situation, recorded a negative annual pre-tax profit of 5 billion euros. Its net debt was 64.5 billion euros, compared to 43 billion euros a year earlier. “Our priority today is to get EdF back on track,” Lik Remont, who was appointed at the helm in November by the government to restore profitability, told reporters.

On top of that, EdF’s chief executive said France’s nuclear power generation should be between 300 and 330 terawatt-hours (TWh) in 2023, up from 279 terawatt-hours in 2022. It was also the lowest level of production since 1988, forcing the country to become an electricity importer for the first time since 1980. Profit before tax and depreciation this year is expected to be “significantly higher” than the €18 billion in 2021, Remon said, adding that the group aims to increase net debt to three times its pre-tax profit or even lower in 2021. 2023. In addition, EdF must fund a major investment of €33 billion by 2028 in its existing reactors, while a plan announced by French President Emmanuel Macron to build six young reactors by 2050 is expected to cost €52 billion. In addition, EdF will take on the multi-billion dollar construction cost of the planned Sizewell Sea plant in the UK.

Finally, the French government has given Luc Remont six months to develop a strategic recovery plan for a utility group that generates the lion’s share of the country’s electricity and is suffering from delays and cost overruns on existing projects.