British Energy sees $1.5B earnings

British Energy sees $1.5B earnings

British Energy, which runs eight nuclear power stations and one coal-fired plant, also said adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization for the year to end-March was 846 million pounds ($1.56 billion).

The result, its first full-year earnings since its financial restructuring in early 2005, compared with an average forecast of 855 million pounds in a Reuters poll of seven analysts.

Total output for the year was 68.4 terawatt hours (TWh), up from 67.4 TWh a year ago, and prices also increased to 32 pounds per megawatt hour (MWh), up 11.6 pounds.

Soaring power prices have helped transform the fortunes of the Livingston, Scotland-based company, which was nearly bankrupt before the government stepped in to help.

The government has said it is prepared to sell part of its majority stake in British Energy and would make a decision on the 65 percent shareholding after a six-month-long energy review is concluded and the outcome known in late July.

The Department for Trade and Industry gained the stake in the nuclear power plant maker after agreeing to shoulder its 5.1 billion pounds of plant decommissioning liabilities in a debt-for-equity swap completed in January 2005.

Shares in British Energy, which returned to the stock market in January 2005 and joined the FTSE 100 blue-chip index early

Copyright 2006 Reuters. All rights reserved.

Share this post