Moody’s Investors Service (Moody’s) has today downgraded to A2 from A1 the issuer and senior unsecured ratings of Électricité de France (EDF), as well as its perpetual junior subordinated debt ratings to Baa2 from Baa1. Concurrently, Moody’s has confirmed the group’s short-term P-1 ratings. The outlook on all ratings is negative. The negative outlook reflects: the execution risk associated with certain elements of EDF’s action plan, notably the disposal of commodity-exposed activities; that the action plan does not address the fundamental challenge faced by EDF, that is power prices at a level which currently does not allow the group to cover the required investments and earn a return on those; and the incremental risks associated with the Hinkley Point C (HPC) nuclear power station project in the UK, should it go ahead.
Moody’s 12th May 2016 read more »