EDF said it would make an investment decision on its £24.5bn project to build a nuclear reactor in the UK some time this year, but suggested that this was unlikely to happen before March as had been planned.
The French nuclear power developer had said it expected to sign a long-awaited agreement with its Chinese partners for a reactor at Hinkley Point in southwest England by the end of the first quarter.
But during a conference call following the group's full-year results, new chief executive Jean-Bernard Levy said that this year was the new timeframe: "We are in the final phase of negotiations, but that phase can take a considerable amount of time."
If talks slip into April, final agreement on what would be the first nuclear power station built in Britain for a generation is likely to be delayed until after May's general election, as Whitehall comes to a standstill in the pre-election period.
This would be just the latest hold up. When EDF struck a deal in October 2013 with the UK government the company said it hoped to have a final sign-off from investors, who will put in half of the capital, by the summer of 2014.
The comments came as state-controlled EDF, which is the world's biggest operator of nuclear plants, reported net income up 5.2 per cent at €3.7bn over the full year as output at its nuclear plants exceeded forecasts.
Mr Levy also sought to quell rumours that the group had plans to take a stake in some of the business units of Areva, a key supplier that has been struggling.
Areva, which is 87 per cent owned by the French state, and also an investor in the same planned UK nuclear project, last year suspended its financial targets for the next two years and said it was reviewing its funding plans.
Analysts estimate that Areva has a capital hole of up to €2bn, and there has been increasing expectation about some kind of state-organised rescue package that may involve EDF as well.
Mr Levy said that since his arrival at the company last year the group had worked with Areva to improve operational efficiency, but "there is no other project on the agenda".
Shares in Areva have halved over the past year amid slow reactor sales, prompted by a combination of fierce competition from US, Russian and South Korean builders and a continued dip in demand following the Fukushima disaster.
Areva has also suffered from problems at its reactor project in Finland, which is expected to come online in 2018, 10 years behind schedule, and has had €3.9bn of writedowns so far.
( Financial Times )
