Uniper Stems Losses From Buying Russian Gas as Prices Plummet

(Bloomberg) -- Germany’s Uniper SE says it expects to make a profit in the first three months of the year as falling gas prices have helped the company stem losses from replacing Russian supplies.

The company expects adjusted earnings of €749 million ($827 million) for the first quarter compared to a loss of €917 million last year. Uniper, which was nationalized by the German government in December, will not need further equity injections from the state for now, the company said in a statement. 

“As gas prices remain volatile, future losses from procuring replacement gas volumes and respective potential equity injections cannot be ruled out going forward,” Uniper said in a statement.

Germany was one of the countries hardest hit when Russia cut supplies of pipeline gas. Uniper incurred one of the biggest losses in German corporate history as it scrambled to replace flows in a market that was roiled by record prices. However, a mild winter has allowed more gas to remain in storage and led to a steep drop in costs.

At the same time, Moscow moved to take control of Uniper’s loss-making subsidiary Unipro on Wednesday in retaliation for economic sanctions after its invasion of Ukraine.

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