Economy

Gas crisis hits Uniper : First gas supplier calls for the state

The energy company Uniper is struggling with the consequences of the gas crisis.

The largest German gas supplier Uniper withdrew its previous forecasts for the financial year and announced talks with the federal government about possible state aid.

Yesterday evening, the energy group Uniper withdrew its earnings and profit targets for the 2022 financial year. The MDAX group does not currently dare to make a new forecast. Business development has deteriorated noticeably as a result of the war in Ukraine and the resulting sharp reduction in gas supplies from Russia, said CEO Klaus-Dieter Maubach.

“Since June 14, Uniper has only received 40 percent of its contractually guaranteed gas volumes from Gazprom,” added CFO Tiina Tuomela. The company therefore has to procure replacement quantities at great expense.

Uniper: Largest German gas company

Uniper – a subsidiary of the Finnish Fortum Group – is the largest foreign customer of the Russian gas giant Gazprom and at the same time the largest German gas supplier.

With their gas storage facilities, the Düsseldorfers also play an important role in securing Germany’s supply in winter and in the efforts of the federal government to make Germany independent of Russian gas supplies.

State participation is also conceivable

The company is now examining how the company’s liquidity can be further secured. “We are therefore now talking to the federal government again about stabilization measures, for which a number of instruments are possible, such as guarantees and security payments, an increase in the current credit facility and equity investments,” explained Uniper boss Maubach.

According to Maubach, Uniper already had a significantly higher liquidity requirement at the end of last year due to the increased prices. “In order to counteract this, we had already expanded our credit lines and, among other things, received a facility from the state KfW in the amount of two billion euros, which we have not used to date.”

Uniper share collapses

Investors were appalled at the company’s announcement. After hours on the Tradegate trading platform, the Uniper share lost more than seven percent compared to the Xetra closing price at a low. It had already closed regular Xetra trading with a minus of 3.4 percent. Since the start of the Ukraine war, the MDAX title on the stock exchange has collapsed by around 50 percent.

More

Bir yanıt yazın

Başa dön tuşu
Breaking News