Uniper swings to $10 billion net profit on lower gas prices

FRANKFURT (Reuters) -Germany’s Uniper, which was bailed out during Europe’s energy crisis, swung to a nine-month net profit of 9.77 billion euro ($10.35 billion), boosted by falling gas prices that positively impacted future provisions.

The result compares with a net loss of 40.3 billion euros in the same period last year, when ballooning costs for the replacement of Russian gas threw the company into its biggest crisis ever, triggering a government rescue.

The news comes a week after Uniper specified its outlook for 2023, expecting adjusted operating profit (EBIT) of 6 billion to 7 billion euros and full-year adjusted net profit of 4 billion to 5 billion euros.

“This result and the outlook are literally extraordinary, and I don’t expect that we’ll see earnings figures of this magnitude in the next few years, although we’re looking ahead with optimism,” finance chief Jutta Doenges said.

The strong nine-months results are essentially due to the mark-down of derivatives Uniper uses to hedge its positions in the gas market, where a massive decline in prices has dissolved forward losses initially expected through 2024.

($1 = 0.9438 euros)