PARIS, Feb 16 Reuters French power giant EDF said on Friday it returned to profit and cut its debt by about 10 billion euros 10.76 billion in 2023 due to the increase in electricity prices and after a chunk of its nuclear fleet reopened.

It booked a 7.9 billion euro impairment related to its UK operations, including the longdelayed Hinkley Point reactor, which is costing much more than expected.

We are in discussions with the British government and other investors to arrange financing for the Sizewell C project, EDF CEO Luc Remont said on a media call referring to another new plant in southeast England.

The electricity company recorded a net profit for 2023 of 10 billion euros, compared to a loss of 17.9 billion in 2022 and an EBITDA of 39.9 billion euros, up from a loss of 4.9 billion a year earlier.

Stateowned EDF, which runs Europe39;s largest nuclear fleet, took several reactors offline in 2022 to carry out checks and repairs after signs of stress corrosion were discovered at some.

Its French nuclear production rose by some 41.4 terawatthours TWh in 2023 to 320.4 TWh as France faced historically high electricity market prices. The group said it expects nuclear power output to rise again in 2024.

1 0.9292 euros

Reporting by Forrest Crellin and Benjamin Mallet; Editing by Josephine Mason

Source Reuters