Status: 08/17/2022 09:58 a.m
Mainly due to failed deliveries from Russia, the Düsseldorf gas trading group Uniper has incurred a horrendous loss. The state is now to step in with a rescue package and as a co-owner.
The Düsseldorf-based energy group Uniper made a loss of more than 12.4 billion euros in the first six months of this year. The group announced today that a little more than half of this, 6.5 billion euros, is related to the expected future effects of gas supply restrictions from Russia.
“Following a very good result in the same period of the previous year, the decline is mainly due to the gas business, which is being impacted by reduced gas deliveries from Russia,” the company explained. In order to fulfill customer contracts, the company had to buy gas elsewhere at high prices.
Impairments of EUR 2.7 billion also weighed heavily on the operating result because the new Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, in which Uniper has a significant stake, was not commissioned. Overall, the group has accumulated debts of more than two billion euros.
Group does not want to make a forecast
“Due to the volatile environment, an earnings forecast for the current financial year cannot yet be given within an appropriate range,” explained Uniper. However, a negative result is to be expected for the financial year. However, the result is expected to improve next year and break even in 2024.
“Uniper has been making an essential contribution to stabilizing the gas supply in Germany for months – at the cost of billions in losses that we incur as a result of the lost supply volumes from Russia,” said CEO Klaus-Dieter Maubach. The federal government recognized this and acted consistently. “The top priority for us now is to implement the stabilization package quickly.”
Rescue package for Uniper
Uniper trades in electricity and gas and uses it to supply major customers such as companies and numerous municipal utilities. According to the federal government, the company plays a systemically important role in the energy supply in Germany.
The federal government had launched a rescue package together with the parent company Fortum. It provides for the German state to support Uniper with a total of 15 billion euros and to take a 30 percent stake in Uniper.
In addition, Uniper and other gas importers can use the planned gas surcharge from October 1st. It is intended to help protect Uniper from insolvency. From October, gas importers can have their additional costs reimbursed for the alternative procurement of supplies that are actually contractually guaranteed from Russia. The costs are shared among all gas customers.