Areva announced an additional provision of around 400 million euros for the Finnish EPR OL3 because of new construction delays.
The Finnish power company TVO said in early June that the new-generation nuclear reactor would begin producing electricity until early 2013, is almost three and a half years later than originally planned.
Areva had recorded 2.3 billion euros of provisions before it announced Wednesday.The group's president and CEO Anne Lauvergeon had publicly described the level of "comfortable" in early March.
Because of the new provision announced Wednesday, the group said in a statement that its operating profit "should register loss in H1 2010.
The reactor Areva Finnish EPR is the first to have been initiated in Europe.
The French group has also reported that its talks with EDF on the conditions for stopping the Georges Besse enrichment plant in a Tricastin (DrĂ´me) continued.
The dispute over the uranium enrichment plant is on the possible orders of EDF in 2011 and 2012, the last two years this site until the entry into service of the Georges Besse II site.
"Outside additional provision OL3 and potential impact of shut-down conditions of the Georges Besse plant 1, the group's operating margin should be around 4% in the first half of 2010, Areva said.
THE BACKLOG IN NET INCREASE
Net income group share the first six months of the year, however, incorporate the added value of 1.3 billion euros achieved in respect of sale of the Transmission and Distribution (T & D) tandem Alstom, Schneider and record as a "significant increase" compared to first half of 2009.
The group's backlog at June 30 for its part should reach over 43 billion euros, an increase of one billion a year and 500 million over the end of 2009, while sales of the first half will move forward "on the order of 2%" over the same period of 2009.
"For all of fiscal 2010, the Group confirms its expectation of a significant increase in backlog and revenues," said Areva.
"Operating income is expected to improve, before the provision, gains on dilution and possible impact of closure conditions of the Georges Besse 1. Finally, net income Group share up sharply compared to the fiscal 2009, particularly through the most gain on the sale of T & D. "