Energy giant EDF posts jump in profits due to higher prices

French energy firm EDF has revealed that core profits in its UK business bounced higher as it charged more for the energy it produced.

The state-backed utilities giant said profits before tax, interest and one-off items lifted to £1.12 billion for 2022 in the UK, following a loss of £21 million in the previous year.

EDF said this was caused by “strong operational performance” across its nuclear fleet and increased prices.

Nevertheless, the UK business recording an operating loss of almost £1 billion once depreciation and one-off impairments were taken into account.

The firm’s energy supply business for UK households and business made a loss of over £200 million.

It came as the wider group plunged to five billion euro (£4.46 billion) loss as repairs impacted the group’s nuclear output for the year.

Luc Remont, chairman and chief executive officer of EDF, said: “The 2022 results were significantly affected by the decline in our electricity output, and also by exceptional regulatory measures introduced in France in difficult market conditions.

“Despite all the challenges, EDF actively focused on service and support for all its residential and business customers, and made every endeavour to ensure the best generation fleet availability for the winter period.”

The update comes a day after British Gas owner Centrica saw profits to triple to around £3.3 billion for the past year.