Fortum Half-year Financial Report 2019 - Improved results in all business segments and strong cash flow

FORTUM CORPORATION HALF-YEAR FINANCIAL REPORT JANUARY-JUNE 2019 19 JULY 2019 AT 9:00 EEST

Release category: Half-year financial report

This release is a summary of Fortum’s Half-year Financial Report 2019. The complete report is attached to this release as a pdf-file. It is also available on the company's website at www.fortum.com/investors.

April-June 2019

• Comparable EBITDA was EUR 372 (282) million, +32%
• Comparable operating profit was EUR 232 (153) million, +52%
• Operating profit was EUR 184 (256) million, -28%
• Share of profits of associated companies and joint ventures was EUR 461 (24) million, mainly due to Fortum’s share of Uniper’s profit
• Earnings per share were EUR 0.69 (0.24), of which EUR -0.05 (0.11) related to items affecting comparability and 0.45 (-) to Uniper. In 2018, capital gain from the sale of the 10% stake in Hafslund Produksjon were EUR 0.09
• Strong cash flow from operating activities totalled EUR 740 (361) million, mainly related to dividends received of EUR 229 million and the change in settlements for futures
• The purchase price allocation of the Uniper investment was finalised

January-June 2019

• Comparable EBITDA was EUR 918 (820) million, +12%
• Comparable operating profit was EUR 640 (558) million, +15%
• Operating profit was EUR 542 (738) million, -27%
  • Share of profits of associated companies and joint ventures was EUR 572 (70) million, mainly due to Fortum’s share of Uniper’s profit
  • Earnings per share were EUR 1.07 (0.68), of which EUR -0.09 (0.18) related to items affecting comparability and 0.50 (-) to Uniper. In 2018, capital gain from the sale of the 10% stake in Hafslund Produksjon were EUR 0.09
  • Strong cash flow from operating activities totalled EUR 1,491 (634) million, mainly due to the change in settlements for futures and dividends received

Summary of outlook

• The Generation segment's Nordic generation hedges: approximately 80% hedged at EUR 33 per MWh for the remainder of 2019 and approximately 60% at EUR 31 per MWh for 2020
• Capital expenditure, including maintenance but excluding acquisitions, is expected to be in the range of EUR 600-650 million in 2019. In 2020, capital expenditure is expected to decline

Key financial ratios

Key figures

Fortum's President and CEO Pekka Lundmark:

"The second quarter of 2019 was a good quarter for Fortum. Results improved in all business segments, cash flow was strong and there was continued focus on strengthening the balance sheet. The higher achieved power price and the higher hydro and nuclear volumes were the main drivers for the clear result improvement in the Generation segment. The results of the Russia segment improved, with higher electricity margins and capacity prices as the main drivers. Part of the improvement was related to high bad-debt provisions in the second quarter of last year.

The weather was warmer than normal in most heating areas, but not as warm as last year. Although seasonally loss-making, the results of the City Solutions segment improved due to higher heat sales, favourable power prices, and better results in our recycling and waste business. Consumer Solutions showed a clear result improvement for the second quarter in a row, after a weaker year in 2018. Roughly half of the result improvement was due to higher margins; the other half was of a more temporary nature.

In the second quarter, Fortum received dividends from Uniper for the first time. The dividend of EUR 165 million strongly contributed to Fortum’s cash flow. Fortum’s EUR 399 million share of Uniper’s profits clearly increased Fortum’s net profit and had a EUR 0.45 positive effect on Fortum’s earnings per share.

We remain convinced that Fortum and Uniper together can take a leading role in the European energy transition. Working in close alignment, we would be stronger and better positioned to address the key challenges of the future energy landscape: affordability, sustainability, and security of supply. The talks we held with Uniper during the spring only strengthened our conviction. Following the controversy around the Uniper annual general meeting in May, we have met with Uniper employee representatives, the new members of the Management Board and the Supervisory Board. I am pleased that we have now agreed that discussions will continue.

In June, the new Finnish Government presented its political programme. I am glad to see that the new government has indicated its commitment to an ambitious climate policy. The programme contains several positive tax-related proposals to support decarbonisation and electrification, but also increased taxes for heating fuels that overlap with the EU ETS. Similarly as in Sweden, also the Finnish Government proposes the introduction of a tax on waste incineration. Such a tax would be inefficient, as it would hardly steer towards efficient recycling and reuse. It is essential that rejects from sorting of non-recyclable waste and hazardous waste would be excluded from such a tax."

Espoo, 18 July 2019

Fortum Corporation
Board of Directors

News conference

The joint news conference for media, investors and analysts will be held on 19 July 2019 at 11.00 EEST at Fortum Head office in Keilalahdentie 2-4, Espoo.

The conference is available as a live webcast on Fortum's website at www.fortum.com/investors. To participate in the teleconference, please dial in approximately 5 minutes before the beginning of the event using the numbers below:

FI +358  9 81 710 310
UK +44 333 300 0804
US +185 585 706 86

Pin: 90793343#

The webcast, together with the transcript after the event, will be recorded and published on Fortum's website at www.fortum.com/investors.

Further information:

Investor Relations and Financial Communications: Ingela Ulfves, tel. +358 40 515 1531, Måns Holmberg, tel. +358 44 518 1518, Rauno Tiihonen, tel. +358 10 453 6150, Pirjo Lifländer, tel. +358 40 643 3317, and investors@fortum.com

Media: Pauliina Vuosio, tel. +358 50 453 2383 

Financial calendar in 2019:

January-September 2019 Interim Report on 24 October at approximately 9:00 EEST.

Distribution:

Nasdaq Helsinki
Key media
www.fortum.com

More information, including detailed quarterly information, is available on Fortum’s website at www.fortum.com/investors

Fortum

Fortum is a leading clean-energy company that provides its customers with electricity, heating and cooling as well as smart solutions to improve resource efficiency. We want to engage our customers and society to join the change for a cleaner world. We employ some 8,000 professionals in the Nordic and Baltic countries, Russia, Poland and India. In 2018, our sales were EUR 5.2 billion and 57% of our electricity generation was CO2 free. Fortum's share is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki. www.fortum.com