Because natural gas prices have fallen significantly for a few months, the energy supplier Uniper is losing less money than was assumed in the autumn.

As the largest German gas trader announced on Wednesday, based on preliminary figures for the 2022 financial year, it now calculates total losses of 19.1 billion euros.

This includes both the losses already incurred and the shortfall still expected from the replacement procurement of natural gas to replace the missing supplies from Russia.

Helmut Buender

Business correspondent in Düsseldorf.

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As a result of the exceptionally high prices at the time, the now nationalized energy company had estimated its total loss at around 40 billion euros when it presented the nine-month figures.

The new values ​​are not set in stone either, but will change with the gas price.

"Uniper's earnings will also depend on the level of gas replacement procurement costs in future quarters," said CFO Tiina Tuomela.

In order to meet its delivery obligations to several hundred municipal utilities and many industrial companies, Uniper has to buy natural gas on the exchange.

The group pays more for it than for the Russian deliveries.

As a result, losses of 13.2 billion euros were incurred in the past financial year, of which 3.4 billion euros in the final quarter.

Uniper has now budgeted EUR 5.9 billion for future losses, so that the total net loss is EUR 19.1 billion.

In the previous year, the minus was 4.2 billion euros.