Areva's renewable energy division contributed positive operating cash flow for the first time in the first half of this year, highlighting the emerging importance of green energy to the French group as it looks to improve its cash position and pursue costcutting measures, Chief Financial Officer Pierre Aubouin said Friday at the company's results presentation.
Revenues from the Renewable Energies division hiked four-fold on the year to Eur253 million ($308.7 million), on growth in offshore wind, solar and biomass sectors, helping drive up group revenues by 8.3% to Eur4.3 billion.
Operating cash flow before tax for the Renewable Energies arm switched from a negative Eur93 million in the first half of 2011, to positive Eur4 million in the first six months of this year.
"It's an encouraging sign because we know that renewable energy can contribute to the cash generation objective that we have in general for the group," Aubouin told investors, adding that this pattern "has to be confirmed in the longer run."
Areva produced 18 offshore wind power units in the first half of this year, compared with just two in the same period a year ago. The state-controlled group markets a 5 MW offshore wind turbine, of which it hopes to have 120 installed by the end of 2013.
There were also positive contributions from the Kogan Creek solar project in Australia and the Reliance solar project in India, and earlier this week Areva announced it had bought the biomass technology firm Thermya, placing it in the co-firing market where biomass and coal can be used in the same plant to produce electricity.
While backlog for the Renewable Energies division fell by 22.8% to Eur1.4 billion, Areva CEO Luc Oursel said the company expects "nice growth" in this area in the second half of the year as the company takes part in tenders for renewable energy projects.
The group will hope to secure further business in the French offshore market later this year, when the government is expected to launch a second tender for new capacity.
In the first tender round, the firm was part of a consortium led by Spain's Iberdrola which secured a contract to build 100 turbines at Saint-Brieuc off the coast of northwest France.
Areva targets revenue from its renewable energy business of Eur600 million for full year 2012.
