PARIS: French water and waste utility Veolia Environnement SA (VIE.FR) Thursday said profitability for the first nine months of the year rose, lifted by businesses outside its home country.
Veolia said its current net income rose to 410 million euros ($447 million) in the first nine months of 2015 up from EUR203 million in the same period a year earlier, while sales revenue rose to EUR18.29 billion from EUR17.76 billion.
The company said a healthy revenue growth in Europe and the rest of the world more than offset a dip in France.
Veolia reiterated its goals for 2015. Three months ago, Antoine Frerot, Veolia’s chief executive, said he expected adjusted net income to rise this year to around EUR500 million, which is the amount it would need to pay its dividend and hybrid coupon, up from EUR326 million in 2014.
The company was hit particularly hard by the economic downturn at the beginning of the decade in Europe, as it was overstretched and loaded with a heavy debt. The crisis forced the utility to sell its assets in around 40 countries and rethink its strategy by expanding into more profitable businesses such as treating industrial waste instead of providing water and expand into countries with strong growth to offset a stagnant market in its home country.
