German utility Uniper reported May 6 adjusted pre-tax earnings (EBIT) of €731 ($879)mn in Q1 2021, 12% up on  €651mn in Q1 2020. It was the last full quarter of results with Andreas Schierenbeck at the helm: he left the company March 30 as majority owner Finnish Fortum installed its own appointees. 

Adjusted net income of €594mn was up about 20% from €499mn which Uniper said was due to "economic net interest, which benefited from the revaluation of provisions due to higher interest rates."

Based on the company’s strong first-quarter results and its assumptions for the rest of the 2021 financial year, the board has increased the forecast range for adjusted EBIT in 2021 from €700-€950mn to €800-€1,050mn; and to increase the forecast range for adjusted net income from €550-€750mn to €650-€850mn.

The global commodities segment was again the main contributor; but whereas last year it had been its European midstream gas business, this year it was its international business unit that triumphed, benefiting from the very high commodity prices in the US and Asia.

The European generation segment also contributed to the earnings increase, principally because of the commissioning of Datteln 4 coal-fired power plant in late May 2020 and the return of its high-efficiency Irsching 4 and 5 gas-fired power plants to commercial operation in Q4 2020. They had been offline for seven years owing to the German electricity market design.

The Russian generation segment saw earnings slip, however with the expiration of long-term capacity payments for two generating units at Shaturskaja and Jaivinskaja power stations, and the relatively weak ruble.

Economic net debt declined from about €3.1bn at year-end 2020 to roughly €2.5bn. The decrease is attributable to an improved net financial position and a reduction in provisions for pensions and similar obligations.

The new CEO Klaus-Dieter Maubach said: “Our business model has proven to be robust. Thanks to the extraordinary commitment of our employees during the ongoing pandemic and to our planning, we’re actually ahead of our previous targets. Uniper is pursuing a clear decarbonisation strategy based on the phase-out of coal, expanding and decarbonising our gas portfolio, and establishing a renewables business." It is pursuing several hydrogen projects as well, including one at Wilhelmshaven and another, with utility EWE, at Huntorf.

Tiina Tuomela, who succeeded Sascha Bibert as CFO also March 30, added that the company would improve the transparency of its reporting on the opportunities and risks that climate change brings. !This plays an important role in helping analysts, investors, and other stakeholders accurately assess Uniper’s potential in a low-carbon world,” he said.