Uniper incurs loss of €12b in H1

Uniper, the German subsidiary of majority-state-owned Finnish energy firm Fortum made a loss of more than €12 billion in the first half of the year, more than half of which was related to the gas crisis with Russia, reported dpa.

Some €6.5 billion were related to interruptions in gas deliveries from Russia as a result of the war in Ukraine, the firm said on Wednesday.

The figures also revealed €2.7 billion in write-offs, including for the cancellation of the Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea gas pipeline, a massive infrastructure project which was shelved days after the Russian invasion began.

"For 2023, we expect an improvement in earnings and aim to leave the loss zone from 2024 onwards," chief financial officer Tiina Tuomela said.

The firm expected a full-year loss in 2022, but could not give a range for how much it could be in view of the volatile environment.

Uniper is struggling to stay afloat because it has to buy more expensive gas on the market to fulfil contracts because of the cut in supplies from Russia.

This has led to liquidity problems because Uniper has not been able to pass on the price increases so far to customers.

Uniper supplies more than 100 municipal utilities and industrial companies in Europe's largest economy. In order to support the group, a rescue package worth billions was put together. Among other things, it provides for the federal government to take a 30% stake in the company.

In late July, Uniper, was getting even less Russian gas after Russia's state-owned utility Gazprom further reduced flows via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline.