Spring freeze gives EDF a £903m profit

The French-owned energy supplier EDF has announced profits in the UK of £903m for the first half of the year, thought to be boosted by demand for gas during the coldest spring in half a century.

EDF said greater demand for gas and selling power at high wholesale prices boosted earnings by 2.8 per cent. It earned most profit from power generation at its eight nuclear power stations, two coal plants and one gas power station in the UK. The company yesterday said its decision to pull out of a nuclear joint venture in the US would not impact on building new plants in the UK.