UK power station operator Uniper warned today that it expects to post huge losses in 2022 as Russian gas supply restrictions take their toll on its finances.
The supplier, which operates seven power stations and a fast-cycle gas storage facility in the UK market, posted an accounting loss of more than €12bn for the first half of the year.
Chief executive Klaus-Dieter Maubach said: “Uniper has for months been playing a crucial role in stabilising Germany’s gas supply—at the cost of billions in losses resulting from the sharp drop in gas deliveries from Russia.”
More than half of the net loss was due to the anticipated future impact that gas curtailment losses will have on its books.
The energy company made an underlying adjusted net loss of €359mln for the first six months of 2022, compared to a net income of €485mln in the same part of 2021.
It said it generated lower income from the UK capacity market while facing higher procurement costs for hard coal.
While earnings from its Russian power generation business rose 29% to €605mln for the interim period, these gains were dwarfed by the impact of future losses from gas curtailments and administrative losses.
Its net debt also ballooned to €2.06bn, up from €324mln a year earlier, as it battled negative cash flow due to a decline in Russian gas deliveries.
Uniper's shares fell by more than 9% by mid-afternoon.