Net profit up for Neoen, which wants to enter the big league

French renewable energy company Neoen has reported a 10% rise in net profit in 2022, buoyed by increased demand for “green electricity” to meet its target of 20 gigawatts (GW) installed or under construction by 2030.

At a conference given to journalists on Wednesday, Xavier Barbaro, CEO of Neoen, said: “With such prospects, we can say that Neoen is taking its place among the world’s major energy companies. We are a company that now counts in tens of gigawatts”.

Strong project execution to achieve objectives

In 2021, the company, valued at four billion euros, announced a target of 10 GW installed or in progress. With a “secure” portfolio currently estimated at 7.4 GW, Mr. Barbaro says Neoen has “demonstrated its ability to exercise this roadmap”. It also highlights the increase in contracts with private companies and distributors as well as the public sector across various countries.

The French renewable energy market as a catalyst

“The fundamentals supporting the global demand for electricity and even more so the demand for a cleaner, more sustainable form have strengthened,” the CEO says. These changes have had a particularly positive effect on the French renewable energy market. As a result, the group’s revenues have increased by 51% in 2022 to 503 million euros, while its Ebitda continues to grow and should exceed 600 million by 2025. Net profit for the year was 45 million.

Investments to differentiate from the German market and questions about Horizeo

Even if it is already very committed to photovoltaic and wind power sources, Neoen plans to intensify its investments, particularly in storage, in order to show that it can differentiate itself from the other producers present on the German market, for example.

When asked about the impact and the law enacted on February 5 prohibiting national projects larger than 25 hectares that affect Horizeo – a project threatening the Gironde – Mr. Barbaro assures that it “remains[ent] twelve months to present the projects already submitted” before the aforementioned law is fully applied and underlines “If this project is not done nothing is catastrophic for Neoen” arguing then that “France sometimes does things that do not always contribute positively to the sector (of renewable energies), citing the administrative limitation suffered by the project carriers”.