Half-year 2013 results up - 2013 Group EBITDA targets raised

Half-year 2013 results up

Good operating performance

New renegotiations of gas contracts
concluded by Edison in July
2013 Group EBITDA targets raised

• EBITDA: €9.7 billion, +6.9% of which 6% organic growth 

• Net income excluding non-recurring items: €3.1 billion, +3.8% 

• Net income - Group share: €2.9 billion, +3.5% 

• Edison: new renegotiations on Algerian and Qatari gas contracts in July 2013 

• Spark: €360 million in cost savings, in line with 2013 projections 

• Net financial debt/EBITDA: 2x vs. 2.4x^[1] at 31 December 2012 

2013 operating performance targets raised

• Group EBITDA: at least 3% in organic growth excluding Edison 

• Edison EBITDA: around €1 billion 

Financial targets reiterated

• Net financial debt/EBITDA: between 2x and 2.5x  

• Payout ratio: 55% - 65% of net income excluding non-recurring items 

EDF's Board of Directors met on 29 July 2013 under the chairmanship of Henri Proglio and approved the condensed consolidated financial statements for the half-year ending on 30 June 2013.

Henri Proglio, Chairman and CEO of EDF said: "The first half-year 2013 was marked by good operating performance, which resulted from investments made in the past several years, particularly in the nuclear fleet and networks in France. This performance is reflected in the increase in financial results, which have also been boosted by successful renegotiations of Edison's long-term gas contracts in Italy. Our major industrial projects also reached milestones during the period, with the reactor dome being installed on the Flamanville EPR plant and the inauguration of the Rizzanese dam in Corsica. In addition to these major investments contributing to French industry and employment, the Group is making its contribution to the collective effort with its cost savings plan totaling €1 billion in 2013."

Change in EDF Group's half-year results

The Group has once again delivered a solid performance in the first half-year with operating results up markedly and a strengthened financial structure.
EBITDA reached €9,698 million, i.e. organic growth of 6% compared with the first half of 2012. Growth was driven by France (organic growth of 6.6%) due to good operating conditions characterised by cold weather and favourable market prices as well as a sharp increase in hydropower output. These results were also driven by Italy with good performance of the electricity business and the favourable outcome of arbitration of gas contracts in Algeria, which was announced in April 2013, as well as the new renegotiation of the Qatari contract in July 2013.
In the United Kingdom, excluding the effect of the fair-value adjustment related to the acquisition of British Energy, EBITDA came out to +2.8% in organic terms.
The Other International segment, with a 6.9% drop in EBITDA in organic terms, continues to be penalised by unfavourable economic and regulatory conditions in Belgium and Poland.
The EBITDA of the Other Activities segment was €1,015 million and includes the good performance of EDF Trading and EDF Énergies Nouvelles' generation activities, but was hit by a weaker contribution by other businesses in the segment, which were lifted by positive effects in the first half of 2012 that have not reoccurred in 2013.

Net income - Group share reached €2,877 million, up 3.5% versus the first six months of 2012. It includes non-recurring items totalling -€191 million versus -€177 million in first half 2012. Restated for these non-recurring items, net income excluding non-recurring items was up 3.8% to €3,068 million.

The Spark programme is rolling out with c. €360 million of savings generated at end-June 2013, which is 35% of the target, in line with projections. These savings had a positive impact on EBITDA thanks to the control over operating expenses. They also reflect efforts to optimise the Group's investments since the beginning of the year. Savings have come from across the Group with 57% in France and 43% internationally, including 19% in the United Kingdom.
The Group is reiterating its target of €1 billion in savings for 2013.

In the first six months of 2013, the Group made substantial investments in France, which were up 15.3% year-on-year, concentrated in nuclear maintenance as well as networks.
The Group's net investments came out to €6,243 million, down slightly by 1.5% compared with first half 2012 on account of the sale of Sutton Bridge in the United Kingdom and the buyback of minority shareholdings in Poland in 2012, which did not reoccur in 2013.
In total, 71% of net Group investments were allocated to unregulated activities and 29% to regulated activities.
For 2013, EDF is targeting net investments of between €12 billion and €12.5 billion, depending on when certain disposals are carried out.

Financial structure strengthened

The net financial debt/EBITDA ratio came out to 2x at 30 June 2013, down sharply compared with 31 December 2012. This is on the lower end of the Group's target range of 2x-2.5x.

Setting up of EDF Invest

EDF Group's 20% stake in TIGF, a gas transport and storage company in southwest France, the acquisition of which is expected to be finalised today, is the first investment made by EDF Invest in infrastructure alongside the 50% interest in RTE that is already in the dedicated assets portfolio. TIGF and RTE shares would account for 13% of dedicated assets.
EDF Invest's target is to manage c. €5 billion in unlisted investments within two years and to account for 25% of all dedicated assets.

Agreement with Exelon on CENG
On 29 July 2013, EDF and Exelon signed an agreement regarding CENG, an entity in which 49.99% of the share capital is held by EDF and 50.01% by Exelon, which operates five nuclear plants in the United States with a total output capacity of 3.9 GW. According to the terms of the agreement, EDF will delegate the operational management of these reactors to Exelon. The agreement also stipulates that EDF will receive an exceptional dividend from CENG for $400 million (approx. €300 million) and will benefit from a put option on Exelon at the fair value of EDF's stake in CENG, which can be exercised between January 2016 and June 2022.
This deal follows an agreement signed in January 2012 between EDF and Exelon ending EDF's opposition to the merger between Constellation and Exelon.
It will enable EDF to reduce its net financial debt by $400 million (approx. €300 million) and will have a slightly accretive effect starting in 2015 through operating improvements and expected synergies in the operational management of the five CENG nuclear reactors by Exelon, the leading nuclear operator in the United States. The agreement is subject to the approval of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the competent regulatory authorities. The deal is expected to be finalised in 2014.

2013 financial objectives:
Operating performance targets raised
Given the Group's good operating performance since the start of the year, as well as the success of new renegotiations on Edison gas contracts, the Group is raising its operating performance targets for the full year:

• Group EBITDA organic growth of at least 3% excluding Edison  

• Edison: EBITDA outlook revised to approximately €1 billion  

The Group is reiterating its financial targets:

• Net financial debt/EBITDA of between 2x and 2.5x 

• Payout ratio: 55% - 65% of net income excluding non-recurring items 

These targets include the full-year effect of the Spark savings programme.

The Group's main results by segment

France: good operating performance

*Data restated for the impact of IAS 19 revised.
In France, sales reached €21,294 million, up 2.8% in organic growth compared with the first half of 2012. EBITDA recorded organic growth of 6.6% to €6,473 million.

In unregulated activities, EBITDA reached €4,284 million, with organic growth of 7.8% due to good operating conditions. Nuclear output was flat year-on-year (-0.5 TWh, i.e. -0.2%). The significant drop in the volume of unplanned outages offset the fact there were more planned outages in the first half of 2013 than in the same period the previous year, which reflected the effectiveness of the large component replacement programme.
For 2013, the Group is reiterating its nuclear output target of 410-415 TWh.
At the same time, hydropower output increased significantly, up 25.4% (+5.1 TWh compared with the first half of 2012) as hydropower conditions were better than seasonal norms along with favourable prospects of high water levels in reservoirs.
The good operating performance came as a result of the combination of a positive weather effect from consistently cold weather combined with more favourable market prices than in first half 2012, and, to a lesser extent, by the increase in regulated sales tariffs and over costs control.

Outside France

United Kingdom: favourable wholesale prices and good control of operating costs

*  Data restated for the impact of IAS 19 revised.
** From acquisition of British Energy.

In the United Kingdom, sales rose to €4,990 million, an organic increase of 7.3% compared with the first half of 2012.  

EBITDA totalled €1,031 million and was lower (-0.1%) on account of the negative impact of the fair value revaluation related to the acquisition of British Energy (impact of -€29 million compared with +€2 million in first half 2012). Restated for this item, EBITDA was up 2.8% in organic terms, due to good control of operating expenses and favourable wholesale prices.
This price effect offsets the lower (-1 TWh) nuclear output over the course of the first six-month period. The decrease, which was anticipated by the Group, is attributable to more planned outages in the first half of 2013 than over the same period in 2012. For 2013, EDF Energy's ambition is to replicate the strong operational performance of 2012.
EBITDA was also underpinned by higher gas sales to retail customers due to the cold weather in the first half.

Italy: good performance of the electricity business
and favourable outcome of gas contract arbitration and new gas renegotiations

*Data restated for the impact of IAS 19 revised.
In Italy, Group sales were up 10.5% in organic terms to €6,481 million while EBITDA recorded a three-fold increase to €669 million, mainly due to Edison, including a scope effect for €130 million.

In the Electricity business, Edison's EBITDA increased on higher sales on the wholesale market due to good hydropower conditions as well as optimisation of the generation fleet.

In July, the Group also successfully finalised the second round of negotiations with Sonatrach.

These successes on gas contracts, as well as the performance of the electricity business, have led the Group to raise its EBITDA target for Edison to approximately €1 billion in 2013.

Edison has also initiated other arbitration proceedings with two other suppliers (Gazprom and ENI) in order to obtain conditions that are line with gas market prices.

Other International: unfavourable economic and regulatory conditions

*Data restated for the impact of IAS 19 revised.
Sales of the Other International segment climbed 3% in organic terms to €4,106 million.
EBITDA amounted to €510 million, down 6.9% in organic terms.
EBITDA for Belgium was hit by outages at Doel 3 and Tihange 2 between July 2012 and June 2013 and by the drop in tariffs on the B2C segment.
In Poland, lower EBITDA was due to deterioration in the regulatory environment regarding the support to biomass and cogeneration, the effects of which were only partially offset by good electricity and heating generation.
In the other countries (Asia, United States, Brazil, etc.), EBITDA rose, in particular, on the back of electricity output in the United States while, in the first half-year 2012, it was affected by planned outages.

Other Activities: good performance of EDF Trading and EDF Énergies Nouvelles

 *Data restated for the impact of IAS 19 revised and the change in the presentation of EDF Énergies Nouvelles' DSSA activities.
Sales generated by the Other Activities segment recorded a 3.1% organic increase to €2,876 million.
EBITDA came out to €1,015 million, down 12.4% in organic terms.
EDF Énergies Nouvelles' EBITDA was lifted by good output from substantial commissioning in 2012. The positive impact of commissioning (1,550 MW in new capacity in 2012) offset the drop in the activity of Development and Sale of Structured Assets (DSSA), whose first half 2012 performance was record-breaking.
EDF Trading's EBITDA recorded organic growth of 3.8% with good results in coal and gas activities.
However, this was not enough to offset the drop in EBITDA of other businesses within this segment, which had benefited in 2012 from revenue linked to property transactions and insurance contracts that were not repeated this year.

Highlights subsequent to the first quarter 2013 release

Setting up of EDF Invest

EDF Group's 20% stake in TIGF, the acquisition of which is expected to be finalised today, is the first investment made by EDF Invest in infrastructure alongside the 50% interest in RTE that is already in the dedicated assets portfolio.
EDF Invest's target is to manage c. €5 billion in unlisted investments within two years and to account for 25% of all dedicated assets.

Green light from the Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) for extending operational lifespan of Bugey 4
Following the third 10-year inspection, the French Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) issued a favourable recommendation on 29 July 2013 for extending the operation of the Bugey 4 nuclear facility, as it had for reactor 2. The authorisation is subject to the completion of related works that EDF will carry out within the required deadlines. Because the design of reactor 2 is identical to that of reactor 4, the recommendations for bolstering the safety levels of reactor 4 are therefore similar.

Agreement with Exelon on CENG
On 29 July 2013, EDF and Exelon signed an agreement regarding CENG, an entity in which 49.99% of the share capital is held by EDF and 50.01% by Exelon, which operates five nuclear plants in the United States with a total output capacity of 3.9 GW. According to the terms of the agreement, EDF will delegate the operational management of these reactors to Exelon. The agreement also stipulates that EDF will receive an exceptional dividend from CENG for $400 million (approx. €300 million) and will benefit from a put option on Exelon at the fair value of EDF's stake in CENG, which can be exercised between January 2016 and June 2022. It will enable EDF to reduce its net financial debt by $400 million (approx. €300 million) and will have a slightly accretive effect starting in 2015 through operating improvements and expected synergies in the operational management of the five CENG nuclear reactors by Exelon, the leading nuclear operator in the United States. The agreement is subject to the approval of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the competent regulatory authorities. The deal is expected to be finalised in 2014.

Edison: success of new gas contract renegotiations in Qatar and in Algeria
On 23 April 2013, the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce ruled in favour of Edison as part of arbitration proceeds to revise the price of long-term gas supplies with Sonatrach (Algeria).
In addition, a deal was reached between Edison and Rasgas (Qatar) in July 2013 revising certain conditions of the long-term gas contract (the price conditions, in particular) between the two parties.
In July 2013, Edison also finalised the second round of negotiations with Sonatrach.

Installation of the dome on the Flamanville EPR reactor
On 16 July 2013, EDF successfully installed the dome of the reactor building of the Flamanville EPR nuclear facility, marking an important milestone of its construction. The Flamanville EPR construction site is entering its final phase, with 95% of civil engineering work completed, along with 46% of electrical and mechanical installation work. In December 2012, EDF revealed that it was raising the estimated cost of the project to €₂₀₁₂8.5 billion. The EPR is still scheduled to start producing electricity in 2016.

AREVA and EDF sign an agreement to develop nuclear skills in Saudi Arabia
On 11 July 2013, AREVA and EDF signed a cooperation agreement with the National Institute of Technology (NIT) in Bahrah with the aim of contributing to the development of nuclear skills in Saudi Arabia.
This cooperation with a leading technical institute demonstrates the willingness of the French nuclear industry to contribute to the training of Saudi technicians in the various nuclear specialties (welding, electrical installation, mechanics and electro-mechanics). Localising skills lies at the heart of the international development strategy implemented by AREVA and EDF, who intend to rely on local partners for the shared industrial projects they export.

Consultation organised by CRE on TURPE 4 distribution
On 9 July 2013, the CRE began its consultation on distribution tariffs that will take effect on 1 January 2014 for a period of 4 years (TURPE 4). The consultation is scheduled to end on 16 August 2013.

CRE report on changes in regulated sales tariffs
On 5 June 2013, the CRE published its analysis of EDF's generation and sales costs under the regulated tariffs of electricity sales. The CRE's study covered the costs over the periods 2007-2012 and estimated costs from 2013 to 2015. It concluded that the changes in the tariffs for the summer of 2013 to cover costs ranged between 9.6% and 6.8% for blue tariffs, between 5.8% and 2.7% for yellow tariffs and between 3.8% and 0% for green tariffs (respectively with and without a hypothetical 10-year accounting extension of depreciation life of nuclear plants in 2013).

Proposed 5% increase in household rates starting 1 August 2013 and 2014
In accordance with the announcement made by Philippe Martin, Minister of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy, on 9 July 2013 the government notified the Conseil supérieur de l'énergie regarding a draft ministerial order that would increase electricity rates for households by 5% on 1 August 2013 and 1 August 2014. The draft order was submitted to the French Energy Regulation Commission (Commission de Régulation de l'Energie or "CRE").

Smart electricity grids
On 9 July 2013, France's Prime Minister announced the start of the rollout of new "Linky" smart meters by ERDF. Some 3 million of these meters should be deployed by 2016.
On 25 July, Henri Proglio charged Philippe Monloubou with the task of spearheading a six-month strategic study on developing and financing smart electricity grids, both in and outside France. In January 2014, Philippe Monloubou will be put forward for the position of Chairman of ERDF's Management Board.

EDF Energies Nouvelles and wpd offshore team up to jointly respond to the French government's second call for tenders, in partnership with Alstom
On 30 May 2013, EDF Energies Nouvelles and wpd offshore, two key players in European offshore wind energy, announced the signing of a partnership agreement. The agreement makes official both groups' decision to, once again, combine their expertise in the French government's second call for tenders, with a view to continuing the development of offshore wind energy in France and pursuing the ambitious industrial project begun with Alstom, the exclusive partner for the supply of wind turbines.

Acquisition of Iberdrola's wind farms in France by EDF Energies Nouvelles finalised
On 27 May 2013, an international consortium comprising EDF Energies Nouvelles, MEAG, acting as the asset manager of Munich Re, and GE Energy Financial Services, a unit of General Electric, has implemented a previously announced agreement with Iberdrola to acquire 30 wind farms in service in France with 305 MW in total gross capacity. Under the agreement announced in January and now finalised, EDF Energies Nouvelles owns an interest of 20%, GE Energy Financial Services an interest of 40% and MEAG an interest of 40% in the assets. EDF Energies Nouvelles will provide asset management, along with operations and maintenance services.

EDF and EPH sign definitive agreement for the sale of 49% of Stredoslovenská Energetika A.S. (SSE)
On 24 May 2013, EDF and Energetický a prumyslový holding, a.s. (EPH) signed a definitive agreement for the disposal of EDF's minority stake of 49% in Stredoslovenská Energetika a.s. (SSE) to EPH. The transaction values the 49% stake of EDF in SSE at approximately €400 million. EDF announced on 21 May that it had signed an exclusivity agreement with EPH. The transaction will be submitted for authorisation at the Shareholders' Meeting of SSE. Closing is expected during second half 2013 after antitrust clearance is obtained.

APPENDICES

1. Change in recognition and measurement methods of the gains related to employee benefits 

The IAS 19 standard was revised in June 2011. The new version, which became mandatory on 1 January 2013, introduces the following changes for valuation and recognition of the EDF group's provisions for employee benefits:

• Immediate recognition of the unvested past service cost, 

• Inclusion of the administrative and financial costs of employee benefit plans in the current service cost, with a corresponding reversal from the provisions previously established for those costs, 

• Inclusion in the financial result of a "net interest expense", equivalent to the interest expense on obligations net of income from fund assets, which is now valued using the same discount rate as the rate applied to measure obligations. The differential between the discount rate for obligations and the actual rate of return on fund assets is recorded directly in equity. 

The Group decided in 2012 to stop using the "corridor" method and now recognises all actuarial gains and losses in full under the "SoRIE" method.

In compliance with IAS 8, this change of method is applied retrospectively.

2. Change in EDF Energies Nouvelles' DSSA^[10] activities presentation 

From 2013 and for the comparative periods presented, disposals of generation assets by EDF Energies Nouvelles are now recorded at net value (sale price less the associated cost of construction) in "Other operating income and expenses". Previously, the proceeds of these sales were included in "Sales revenues" (for sales proceeds) and the construction costs were included in "Other external expenses" (for construction costs).

This change of presentation has no impact on EBITDA, nor on Group net income and standardises the presentation used in the Group's income statement for asset disposal operations by EDF Energies Nouvelles (facilities under construction and facilities in operation).

Consolidated income statements

1. The figures published for first-half 2012 have been restated for the impact of retrospective application of IAS 19 revised and the change in presentation of disposals of generation assets by EDF Energies Nouvelles as part of its Development and Sale of Structured Assets (DSSA) business. 

Consolidated balance sheets

1. The figures published for 2012 have been restated for the impact of retrospective application of IAS 19 revised
    

Consolidated balance sheets

1. The figures published for 2012 have been restated for the impact of retrospective application of IAS 19 revised 

Consolidated cash-flow statements

1. The figures published for first-half 2012 have been restated for the impact of retrospective application of IAS 19 revised 

EDF group, one of the leaders in the European energy market, is an integrated energy company active in all areas of the business:
generation, transmission, distribution, energy supply and trading. The Group is the leading electricity producer in Europe. In France, it has mainly nuclear and hydropower generation facilities where 95.9% of the electricity output is CO₂-free.
EDF's transmission and distribution subsidiaries in France operate 1,285,000 km of low and medium voltage overhead and underground
electricity lines and around 100,000 km of high and very high voltage networks. The Group is involved in supplying energy and services
to approximately 28.6 million customers in France. The Group generated consolidated sales of €72.7 billion in 2012, of which 46.2%
outside of France. EDF is listed on the Paris Stock Exchange and is a member of the CAC 40 index.

Disclaimer

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell securities in the United States or any other jurisdiction. This press release may contain forward-looking statements and targets concerning, for example, the Group's strategy, financial position or results, which do not constitute a guarantee of future performance or results of the company. EDF considers that these forward-looking statements and targets are based on reasonable assumptions, which can be however inaccurate and are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, many of which are outside the control of the company, and as a result of which actual results may differ materially from expected results. Important factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements of the Group to differ materially from those contemplated in this document include in particular the successful implementation of EDF strategic, financial and operational initiatives based on its current business model as an integrated operator, changes in the competitive and regulatory framework of the energy markets, as well as risk and uncertainties relating to the Group's activities, the climatic environment, the volatility of raw materials prices and currency exchange rates, the strengthening of safety regulations, technological changes, changes in the general economic and political conditions in the countries where the Group operates, and risk and uncertainties relating to the consequences of the nuclear accident in Japan. Detailed information regarding these uncertainties and potential risks are available in the reference document (document de référence) of EDF filed with the Autorité des Marchés Financiers on 5 April 2013, which is available on the AMF's website at www.amf-france.org and on EDF's website at www.edf.com. EDF does not undertake, nor does it have any obligation to provide updates of the information contained in this press release.

[1] Pro forma after allocation of the CSPE deficit to dedicated assets on 13 February 2013 and subtraction of €2.4bn from dedicated assets portfolio, enabling 100% coverage of the EDF nuclear liabilities that are eligible for dedicated assets
[2] Development and Sale of Structured Assets
[3] Pro forma after allocation of the CSPE deficit to dedicated assets on 13 February 2013 and subtraction of €2.4bn from dedicated assets portfolio, enabling 100% coverage of the EDF nuclear liabilities that are eligible for dedicated assets

[4] According to IAS 32 " Financial instruments - presentation" the perpetual bond issued in January 2013 is accounted for as equity

[5] Reserve fund set up by the Group to cover its long-term nuclear commitments in France, in accordance with the conditions set by law

[6] ERDF and French islands activities
[7] And 99.5% of voting rights
[8] Edison has launched two rounds of negotiations for its long-term gas contracts with its 4 partners: Gazprom in Russia, ENI in Libya, RasGas in Qatar and Sonatrach in Algeria
The second renegotiation cycle, related to the period 2012-2015, began in second half 2012

[9] Reserve fund set up by the Group to cover its long-term nuclear commitments in France, in accordance with the conditions set by law
[10] Development and Sale of Structured Assets