S&P Global Ratings affirms Fortum’s subsidiary Uniper’s long-term rating of BBB- with negative outlook following German government support

FORTUM CORPORATION INVESTOR NEWS ON 29 JULY 2022 AT 21:30 EEST

S&P Global Ratings (S&P) has resolved Fortum’s subsidiary Uniper’s Credit Watch Negative placement by affirming the BBB- long-term credit rating with a negative outlook. On 5 July 2022, S&P placed Fortum’s and Uniper’s credit rating on CreditWatch Negative. According to S&P, Uniper is now considered as a government-related entity with a high likelihood of support.

At the same time, S&P sees Uniper’s stand-alone credit quality to have weakened. The negative outlook reflects S&P’s view that Uniper will continue to operate under an uncertain environment, because of the high volatility surrounding gas flows delivered.

The resolution on the rating by S&P follows the announcement made on 22 July 2022 that Fortum, Uniper and the German government have agreed on a comprehensive stabilisation package to provide financial relief to Uniper. As Germany’s largest importer of natural gas, Uniper has been hit hardest by the curtailments of Russian gas imports, and as a result is under extreme financial pressure.

The confirmation of the investment grade rating of Uniper by S&P is one of the requirements of the stabilisation package. The agreement still requires all applicable regulatory approvals, in particular by the European Commission, as well as an approval by an Extraordinary General Meeting of Uniper.

For further details on the Uniper rating, please see Uniper’s press release as published today.

Fortum Corporation
Ingela Ulfves, VP, IR and Financial Communications

Further information:

Investors & analysts:
Carlo Beck, IR Manager, tel. +49 172 751 2480
Rauno Tiihonen, IR Manager, tel. +358 10 453 6150
Jouni Huttunen, VP, Treasury, tel. +358 50 452 4649

Media:
Fortum News Desk +358 40 198 2843

Fortum
Fortum and Uniper form a European energy group committed to enabling a successful transition to carbon neutrality for everyone. Our 50 gigawatts of power generating capacity, substantial gas import and storage operations, and our global energy trading business enable us to provide Europe and other regions with a reliable supply of low-carbon energy. We are already Europe’s third largest producer of CO₂-free electricity, and our growth businesses focus on clean power, low-carbon energy, and the infrastructure for tomorrow’s hydrogen economy. In addition, we design solutions that help companies and cities reduce their environmental footprint. Our 20,000 professionals and operations in 40 countries give us the skills, resources, and reach to empower the energy evolution toward a cleaner world. fortum.com; uniper.energy