German energy company Uniper reported a loss of around €40 billion in the first nine months of the year, impacted by reduced Russian gas deliveries, according to the company’s financial results statement released Thursday.
The decline is mainly attributable to the gas business, which was adversely affected by high replacement costs due to curtailed gas deliveries from Russia between June 14 and Sept. 30, Uniper said.
The company explained that the adverse impact was further exacerbated in the third quarter of 2022 by the complete cessation of gas deliveries.
The announced net loss contains roughly €10 billion of realized costs for replacement volumes, and roughly €31 billion of anticipated future losses from valuation effects on derivatives and provision built-ups related to the Russian gas curtailments as of Sept. 30.
Accounting for more than half of Uniper's capital, the sustained loss is the largest one that a German company has ever reported. Deutsche Telekom had reported a loss of €25 billion in 2002.
"To ensure customers’ supply security, Uniper has for some time been procuring gas at significantly higher prices and, as is well known, has thus recorded considerable losses because the replacement costs of procuring new gas aren’t being passed through to consumers," Uniper CFO Tiina Tuomela was quoted as saying in the statement, adding that half-year data already revealed massive scars in the company’s financial results.
She said implementing a stabilization package is the highest priority for the company to ensure Germany’s supply of power and gas for the upcoming winter and subsequent years.
"We and the Federal Government are currently finalizing the details of the support measures relating to the suspension of the gas surcharge. We are also working intensively to restructure our gas portfolio in order to minimize risks and to end by 2024 the losses resulting from suspended Russian gas deliveries," she said.
She added that the company’s focus is on making additional amounts of gas and LNG available to Germany and doing everything possible to move forward with the necessary infrastructure, including the construction of the country’s first LNG import terminal.
The German government chose to buy and nationalize 99% of Uniper, in which Finnish energy giant Fortum controls the majority shares, in order to secure supply during the worldwide energy crisis.
By Sibel Morrow and Bahattin Gonultas
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr
