GdF-Suez was forced to report results a day early on Wednesday night after unions leaked net profit figures in their campaign to force pay increases at the recently merged gas and electricity group.

Formed from the merger of state owned GdF and private utility Suez a year ago, the group reported a 6.3 per cent drop in net profits to €3.3bn ($4.7bn) for the first six months amid difficult economic conditions and higher debt costs.