...- Electricite de France S.A. (EDF) has announced cost overruns of ú1.9 billion-ú2.9 billion on the new Hinkley Point C (HPC) nuclear plant in the U.K., with the overall budget now expected to be ú21.5 billion-ú22.5 billion. - This comes on top of 1.5 billion of cost overruns on the Flamanville (FLA-3) EPR, which has been postponed by three years following the French nuclear safety authority's (ASN's) June decision to require repairs on eight faulty welds, with the total budget rising to 12.4 billion. - Although the incidents are not related, we believe that execution risks in new nuclear projects and operating issues at existing reactors will heighten pressure on the group's credit quality, translating to increasing capital expenditure (capex), an upward debt trajectory, and reduced financial flexibility. - We are revising the outlook on EDF to negative, reflecting increased operational risks related to evidence of weak management of complex new nuclear projects, and the potential reduction...
