France’s state-owned nuclear giant Areva revealed its FY2005 figures on 8 March. The company’s turnover increased 3.1% to €10,125 million with a net income of €1049 million.
Anne Lauvergeon, chairman of the executive board said: “Net income more than doubled in 2005. Excluding the net gain from the disposal of our FCI Connectors division, the net result increased by 15%. One should note that the company was sold under excellent financial and social terms, thus rewarding our success in reorganising the business. This strategic move allowed the group to focus now on its core business: energy.”
She added: “The optimisation plan for the T&D [transmission and distribution] division is beginning to bear fruit: new orders were up 13% and current operating margin rose by two points over the year.”
Sales revenue increased 3.7% on a like-for-like basis while organic growth was 4.6% in the nuclear divisions mainly due to the Olkiluoto EPR and projects in France and China. The reactors and services division saw a 10.8% growth rate.
The company enjoys a significant backlog of work amounting to over €20.5 billion – or about two years worth of sales.
Areva’s current operating income for 2005 was €746 million, up 1.5% compared with the €735 million in 2004. The current operating margin was stable: 7.4% compared with 7.5% in 2004. The company’s net debt decreased 52% to €268 million.
Lauvergeon concluded: “Our strategic goals are clear. We want to leverage our integrated model covering the entire nuclear cycle to strengthen our position as world leader in the nuclear industry. We are aiming for one-third of the world market in 2010 and double-digit operating margin.”
