By Christoph Steitz and Urvi Manoj Dugar
FRANKFURT/BENGALURU (Reuters) -Bailed-out utility Uniper expects billions in euros in profits in 2023 as a result of more favourable than expected gas price developments and is weighing repaying part of the state aid it received from Berlin to save it from collapse.
Frankfurt-listed shares in the company, which became the biggest casualty in Europe’s energy crisis last year, soared 15.9% following the news, on hopes that Berlin could pare back its 99% stake in the wake of the positive performance.
As a result of positive hedging transactions in coal- and gas-fired power generation as well as gas trading, Uniper now expects both adjusted EBIT and adjusted net profit to reach a mid-single-digit billion euro in 2023.
It previously expected positive earnings, without specifying.
The company, in preliminary results for the first six months, also said it expects adjusted first-half EBIT of 3.7 billion euros ($4.1 billion) compared with its previous loss of 757 million euros.
“These very good figures are the result of a strong operational performance in a favourable market environment,” finance chief Jutta Doenges said, adding the results gave Uniper a tailwind for the implementation of its strategy.
The company, which has so far received around 20 billion euros in government equity and loans, said it would review its obligation to repay excess amounts under EU regulation, adding it was in talks with the German government over the matter.
In May, Uniper, which is due to report first-half results on Aug.
1, reported a first quarter net profit of 6.7 billion euros after releasing significant provisions it made after Moscow’s move to stop gas supplies.
Its main supplier, Russia’s Gazprom, last year suspended gas deliveries via the Nord Stream pipeline, which was later damaged in an act of sabotage.
($1 = 0.9053 euro)
(Reporting by Urvi Dugar in Bengaluru and Christoph Steitz in Frankfurt; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Marguerita Choy)
