This was the lowest price in the past rolling 12-months and over the past year shares in EDF have tumbled 27.61% cf. the underlying benchmark CAC 40’s gain of 1.47%.
What has driven the share price lower with such speed is that fact that the firms constructing the new plant, not taxpayers and customers, pay the bill for the increase in costs. That means EDF and its partner on the project China General Nuclear Power Corp . Large energy suppliers are complex businesses. They generate electricity and buy gas to supply energy to homes and businesses. In addition, they often trade power between different parts of their businesses at home and overseas.
Current regulation requires the large energy suppliers within the U.K. to produce an annual Consolidated Segmental Statements to show the costs, revenues and profits for the different segments of their generation and supply businesses. With tighter regulation of building standards and maintenance procedures the profits earned in the U.K. from energy generation have fallen in each of the past eight years. In 2011 the profits across the industry from energy generation were £2.4 billion to just £751 million in 2018.