Stock exchange release

Correction to Fortum Financial Statements Bulletin 2020

12 March 2021, 11:15 EET

Fortum-4390

FORTUM CORPORATION FINANCIAL STATEMENTS BULLETIN 2020 12 MARCH 2021 AT 11:15 EET

Fortum’s Financial Statements Bulletin 2020 contains an incorrect effect from Items affecting comparability on earnings per share.

Incorrect sentences page 3:

“Earnings per share were EUR 0.43 (0.40), of which EUR 0.36 (0.00) related to items affecting comparability”

“Earnings per share were EUR 2.05 (1.67), of which EUR 0.38 (0.07) related to items affecting comparability”

Corrected sentences page 3:

“Earnings per share were EUR 0.43 (0.40), of which EUR -0.36 (0.00) related to items affecting comparability”

“Earnings per share were EUR 2.05 (1.67), of which EUR 0.38 (-0.07) related to items affecting comparability”

Incorrect sentence page 10:

“Earnings per share were EUR 2.05 (1.67), of which EUR 0.38 (0.07) per share were related to items affecting comparability”

Corrected sentence page 10:

“Earnings per share were EUR 2.05 (1.67), of which EUR 0.38 (-0.07) per share were related to items affecting comparability”

Below the corrected release and Financial Statements Bulletin 2020 as attachment.

Fortum Financial Statements Bulletin 2020

October-December 2020

  • Comparable EBITDA was EUR 1,247 (552) million
  • Comparable operating profit was EUR 928 (398) million due to Uniper’s fourth-quarter results
  • Accounting effect, mainly one-time, of purchase price allocation of Uniper transaction EUR 64 million on the comparable operating profit of the Uniper segment
  • Operating profit was EUR 458 (401) million
  • Share of profits of associates and joint ventures was EUR 113 (65) million
  • Earnings per share were EUR 0.43 (0.40), of which EUR -0.36 (0.00) related to items affecting comparability
  • Cash flow from operating activities totalled EUR 763 (209) million
  • Strategy updated to drive the clean energy transition and deliver sustainable financial performance

January-December 2020

  • Comparable EBITDA was EUR 2,434 (1,766) million
  • Comparable operating profit was EUR 1,344 (1,191) million
  • Accounting effect, mainly one-time, of purchase price allocation of Uniper transaction EUR 57 million on the comparable operating profit of the Uniper segment
  • Operating profit was EUR 1,599 (1,118) million
  • Share of profits of associates and joint ventures was EUR 656 (744) million, the decline mainly related to Uniper reported as an associated company until 31 March 2020
  • Earnings per share were EUR 2.05 (1.67), of which EUR 0.38 (-0.07) related to items affecting comparability
  • Cash flow from operating activities totalled EUR 2,555 (1,575) million
  • Adverse effects of Covid-19 mainly in the Group’s Russian operations
  • Total consideration from divestments EUR 1.2 billion, including divestment of district heating operations in Joensuu and Järvenpää, majority stake in Nordic wind, and majority stake in Nordic charging operator
  • In March, Fortum became the majority owner in Uniper, consolidated Uniper as a subsidiary
  • Fortum's Board of Directors proposes a dividend of EUR 1.12 (1.10) per share

Summary of outlook

  • The Generation segment’s Nordic generation hedges: approximately 75% at EUR 33 per MWh for 2021, and approximately 50% at EUR 31 per MWh for 2022
  • The Uniper segment’s Nordic generation hedges: approximately 90% at EUR 27 per MWh for 2021, approximately 65% at EUR 24 per MWh for 2022, and approximately 25% at EUR 22 per MWh for 2023
  • Capital expenditure, including maintenance but excluding acquisitions, is expected to be approximately EUR 1,400 million in 2021

Key figures

EUR million IV/2020 IV/2019 2020 2019
Sales 21,279 1,553 49,015 5,447
Comparable EBITDA* 1,247 552 2,434 1,766
Comparable operating profit 928 398 1,344 1,191
Operating profit 458 401 1,599 1,118
Share of profit/loss of associates and joint ventures* 113 65 656 744
Profit before income taxes 554 454 2,199 1,728
Earnings per share, EUR 0.43 0.40 2.05 1.67
Net cash from operating activities** 763 209 2,555 1,575
Shareholders’ equity per share, EUR 14.58 14.61
Financial net debt (at period-end)*** 7,023 4,833
Adjusted net debt (at period-end)*** 9,784 4,978
Interest-bearing net debt (at period-end)*** - 5,260
Financial net debt/comparable EBITDA* *** 2.9 -

* Comparable EBITDA is defined as an alternative performance measure and used as a component in the capital structure target 'Financial net debt-to-Comparable EBITDA'. In 2020 Comparable EBITDA includes contribution from Uniper for the period of 1 April to 31 December 2020 since Uniper was consolidated as a subsidiary from 31 March 2020. Until 31 of March 2020 Uniper's contribution to the income statement was recognised in the Share of profit/loss of associates and joint ventures.
** Change in net margin liabilities has been reclassified from operating cash flows to investing cash flows and to financing cash flows.
*** Following the consolidation of Uniper, Fortum has updated its definition of net debt and uses financial net debt and adjusted net debt.

Fortum’s President and CEO Markus Rauramo:

"The year 2020 will be remembered first and foremost for the Covid-19 pandemic that shook the world and impacted the lives and livelihoods of people all around the globe. While the utilities sector, and Fortum more specifically, was also affected by the pandemic, we suffered clearly less than many other sectors and companies. Our focus through the challenging times was – and continues to be – on securing the well-being of our employees and thereby ensuring uninterrupted supply of power and heat to our customers and the societies around us.

Over the course of the year, we stood up to the challenge very well and successfully operated our power plants, carried out the annual overhauls, and secured the construction and commissioning of new power plants without major disturbances. In the Nordics we commissioned both the 90-MW Kalax and 99-MW Sørfjord wind parks, and in Russia we brought a total of 550 MWs of wind capacity to the market. At the same time, our subsidiary Uniper’s construction projects at Irsching and Scholven in Germany and the modernisation of the Surgutskaya power plant in Russia are proceeding according to plan.

We have also continued our strategy execution tenaciously. During the year, we increased our ownership in Uniper from 49.99% to approximately 76%, and consolidated Uniper as a subsidiary into our financials as a separate reporting segment. One of the key focus areas in 2020 was intensifying the cooperation between Fortum and Uniper. As a result, we presented an updated strategy covering the whole Fortum Group at the beginning of December. Building on our strong position in CO2-free power generation and gas as well as our expertise in sustainable industrial and infrastructure solutions, the strategy focuses on driving the clean energy transition. With determined execution of our strategy, we intend to deliver sustainable financial performance and target a growing dividend over the years to come. Our strategy is aligned with the goals of the Paris Agreement, targeting carbon neutrality for the Group by 2050 and in our European generation already in 2035.

As part of our strategy execution in 2020, we continued to optimise our portfolio and decided to divest our district heating businesses in Joensuu and Järvenpää in Finland after a strategic review. The sales gains recorded for these assets totalled EUR 722 million. The strategic reviews of our district heating assets in the Baltics, Poland, and Sweden as well as of our Consumer Solutions business are ongoing.

In 2020, Europe took determined strides on climate policy. The EU’s Green Deal package with a clear commitment to climate neutrality by 2050 and tighter emissions reduction targets for 2030 was a truly welcome development as it bundles up all EU policy areas and all sectors of society. Until now, the focus of decarbonisation has largely been on the power sector, but the Green Deal has a society-wide approach. The tighter targets will be translated into a substantially tighter EU emission trading system in the upcoming years and the expansion of it is also on the table. This is something we for several years have been advocating for and we are very pleased with the development. This decision has also supported the price of CO2 emission allowances, which are trading around twice the price compared to a year ago. The hydrogen economy also took several steps forward, with the EU Commission and several member states presenting their hydrogen strategies. This is a very welcome development, as the role of hydrogen made from CO2-free power will play a key role in decarbonising the European economy, including many sectors that are hard to decarbonise, such as heavy transport and some industrial processes.

The market conditions in 2020 were characterised, not only by the pandemic and market volatility, but for us even more so by the wet hydrology in the Nordics that pushed power prices heavily down. Towards the end of the year, CO2 emission allowance and commodity prices started to recover, which was also reflected in increasing power prices. While 2020 was a rough year for many energy commodities, European gas and power demand suffered only mildly – both in the region of a 3-4% decrease year-on-year.

The 2020 financial results for our Generation segment were burdened by the low power prices and low nuclear volumes especially in the fourth quarter. Our successful hedging significantly alleviated the effect of the low power prices. In the City Solutions segment, the result declined on warm weather and low power prices, while Consumer Solutions’ results continued to improve. Despite the impact of the pandemic in the first half of 2020 and the lower power margins, our Russia segment fared well operationally, and the result decline was to a large extent due to the change in the Russian rouble exchange rate. Uniper’s results generally follow a seasonal pattern with the first and fourth quarters being the strongest. As a result of the strong hedging and optimisation in the power and gas business, the fourth-quarter 2020 results of the Uniper segment significantly contributed to Fortum’s comparable operating profit.

In line with our updated dividend policy and what we communicated in early December, the Board of Directors proposes a dividend of EUR 1.12 per share for the financial year 2020, an increase from the stable dividend we have been paying for several years.

Finally, I would like to thank all our employees for their dedication and hard work during the challenging times and for their flexibility and willingness to quickly adapt to the new ways of working brough on by the Covid-19 pandemic. For the year 2021, the focus will be on strategy execution, further deepening the cooperation with Uniper, and delivering on the collaboration benefits identified thus far with Uniper. At the same time, we will continue to target a strong financial position and maintaining our solid investment-grade rating."

Dividend distribution proposal

The distributable funds of Fortum Corporation as at 31 December 2020 amounted to EUR 4,915,857,735 including the profit of the financial period 2020 of EUR 1,678,521,550. The company’s liquidity is good and the dividend proposed by the Board of Directors will not compromise the company’s liquidity.

The Board of Directors proposes to the Annual General Meeting that a dividend of EUR 1.12 per share be paid for the year 2020.

Based on the number of registered shares as at 11 March 2021, the total amount of dividend would be EUR 994,889,801. The Board of Directors proposes that the remaining part of the distributable funds be retained in the shareholders’ equity.

Espoo, 11 March 2021

Fortum Corporation

Board of Directors

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 [at] fortum [dot] com

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

The Board of Directors has approved Fortum’s 2020 Financial Statements and Fortum’s auditors have issued their unqualified Audit Report for 2020 on 11 March 2021. The Financial Statements Bulletin has been prepared in accordance with International Accounting Standard (IAS) 34, Interim Financial Reporting, as adopted by the EU.

Financial calendar in 2021

Fortum’s Financial Statements and Operating and Financial Review for 2020 will be published in week 11 at the latest.

Fortum will publish three interim reports in 2021:

  • January-March on 12 May 2021 at approximately 9.00 EEST
  • January-June on 17 August 2021 at approximately 9.00 EEST
  • January-September on 12 November 2021 at approximately 9.00 EET

Fortum's Annual General Meeting 2021 is planned to take place on 28 April 2021 and the possible dividend-related dates are:

  • Ex-dividend date 29 April 2021
  • Record date for dividend payment 30 April 2021
  • Dividend payment date 7 May 2021

Uniper published its 2020 Annual Report on 4 March 2021.

Uniper will publish its interim reports in 2021:

  • Financial Results January-March 2021 on 6 May 2021
  • Financial Results January-June 2021 on 11 August 2021
  • Financial Results January-September 2021 on 5 November 2021

Distribution:

Nasdaq Helsinki
Key media
www.fortum.com