Utility Engie's first-half earnings recover on restart of Belgian nuclear reactors

PARIS (Reuters) - French gas and power group Engie's <ENGIE.PA> second-quarter earnings rebounded after a weak first quarter, driven by strong management of its energy, an improvement in client solutions and the restart of all its Belgian nuclear reactors.

First-half core earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), which had fallen 4.8% in the first quarter, were up 0.6% to 5.3 billion euros (£4.85 billion).

First-half revenue rose 9.3% to 33 billion and current operating income was up 3.1% to 3.2 billion euros. Net recurring income was flat at 1.5 billion euros.

The utility confirmed its guidance for 2019 group net recurring income of 2.5-2.7 billion euros, "based on the positive momentum built over the second quarter and our visibility for rest of the year". Engie said it expected full-year profit growth to remain weighted towards the second half.

(Reporting by Geert De Clercq; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)