FRANKFURT (Reuters) -State-owned utility Uniper has begun repaying Germany for a 13.5 billion euro ($14.7 billion) bailout it received during Europe’s energy crisis, saying on Tuesday it had transferred 530 million euros to the government in September.
The company said a separate chunk of provisions was now valued at just under 2.5 billion euros, up from an initial 2.2 billion, and would likely be transferred in early 2025, while the final amount could still change.
The group is currently preparing for a return to the stock market after Berlin acquired 99.12% as part of its rescue, which became necessary after Gazprom, Uniper’s former main gas supplier, first curbed and later stopped deliveries.
Berlin is currently preparing the sale of Uniper shares, likely in the spring of next year, to pare back its ownership, sources have said, a process that will result in further proceeds for Berlin.
The company also confirmed its outlook for 2024, still expecting adjusted core profit (EBITDA) of 1.9 billion to 2.4 billion euros and adjusted net profit of 1.1 billion to 1.5 billion euros.
($1 = 0.9193 euros)
(Reporting by Christoph Steitz, Editing by Miranda Murray)
