By Inti Landauro
PARIS--French power utility Engie (GSZ.FR), formerly known as
GDF Suez, Wednesday cut its profit target for the year after it was
forced to postpone the reopening of two Belgian nuclear reactors
which have been shut since March 2014.
Engie lowered its target for net recurring income--a measure of
net income that strips out restructuring costs and other
impairments--by 150 million euros ($168 million) to a range of
between EUR2.85 billion and EUR3.15 billion.
The company said earlier Wednesday that it would have to
postpone the reopening of its two Belgium reactors, Doel 3 and
Tihange 2, until Nov. 1. The reactors were shut down by the Belgian
authorities in March last year after tests on their pressure
vessels showed "unexpected results" regarding their resistance.
The two reactors were shut down in 2012 after micro-cracks were
found on their pressure vessels, which enclose the reactors' cores.
Engie operates a total of seven reactors in Belgium.
Engie said the Belgian regulator will collect more opinions
before authorizing Electrabel, the company's Belgian unit, to
restart the reactors. The process will take another few months,
Engie said, citing estimations from the regulator.
The halting of the two reactors had a negative impact on Engie's
bottom line last year.
Write to Inti Landauro at inti.landauro@wsj.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires