By Dina Kartit
(Reuters) -Revenues at France’s Veolia jumped 49.1% in the nine months to the end of September, the company said on Wednesday, mostly driven by its takeover of rival Suez earlier this year.
The waste and water company’s revenues for the period climbed to 30.71 billion euros ($30.92 billion), while its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose 5.2% year-on-year to 4.53 billion euros.
The acquisition of Suez in February contributed 7.12 billion euros to revenues, with organic growth totalling 13.2% for Veolia and Suez together.
“Our tariff indexation business models with municipal clients as well as our strict pricing discipline with industrial clients have enabled us to absorb cost inflation and deliver strong earnings growth,” Chief Executive Officer Estelle Brachlianoff said in a quarterly earning statement.
“This very good performance is also the result of an integration of Suez ahead of schedule.”
The utility said it was now aiming for the upper end of its EBITDA forecast range for organic growth of between 4% and 6% in 2022, and confirmed the rest of objectives for the year.
However, Veolia said its activities were affected by price increases net of cost inflation and contract negotiations, resulting in a loss of 133 million euros, while the weather had a 40 million euro negative impact, due to a milder winter in Central and Eastern Europe.
($1 = 0.9930 euros)
(Reporting Dina KartitEdited by Christian Schmollinger and Mark Potter)