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Uniper Se

Q12026

5/12/2026

speaker
Operator
Conference Operator

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Uniper Analyst and Investor Conference Call, First Quarter Results 2026. At our request, this conference will be recorded. As a reminder, all participants will be in a listen-only mode. After the presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions by dialing star 1 on your telephone. May I now hand you over to the Executive Vice President, Group Finance and Investor Relations, Sebastian Veit, who will start the meeting today. Please go ahead.

speaker
Sebastian Veit
Executive Vice President, Group Finance and Investor Relations

Thank you, operator, and good morning, everyone. I'm pleased to welcome you to our results call on the first quarter results 2026. Next to me on today's call, Michael Lewis, our Chief Executive Officer, and Christian Barr, our Chief Financial Officer. Michael will present company highlights, all of our Christian covering financial results for Q1 2026. And as usual, we will wrap up with a Q&A session at the end. And now, let me hand over to Michael Lewis, please.

speaker
Michael Lewis
Chief Executive Officer

Thanks, Sebastian. And very good morning, everyone, from my side. And thanks very much for joining the call. And let me start by highlighting the results for the first quarter. And I'm pleased to say we had a very good start into the financial year of 2026. Our operational earnings in the first quarter matched our expectations as presented during our full year 2025 investor analysis call in March. Group adjusted EBITDA ended up with €407 million, whilst group adjusted net income reached €231 million. And this performance was achieved despite the heightened geopolitical tensions We know the conflict in the Middle East and its impact on the key global supply routes caused significant volatility in commodity prices during March. An uncertainty about the length of the conflict prevails and this continues to influence markets as a peaceful resolution, unfortunately, is not yet in sight. Nonetheless, Uniper's operational business has only been affected to a limited extent by the conflict in the Middle East as Uniper has no direct physical exposure to the region. Our gas portfolio is deliberately diversified and the de-risking of our portfolio over the past few years bears fruit in the current environment. However, we will continue to monitor the development in the Middle East very closely. The good operating results in the first three months underscores what we said during our full year results call in March. Namely, Juniper is today more resilient than in the past working with a diversified business model. We continue to work diligently on de-risking our portfolio, and we continue to be well positioned to seize opportunities in our core markets in Europe. And with a streamlined portfolio after asset disposals, 2026 marks a new baseline for Unica. And for the remainder of the year, we fully confirm our given full-year earnings outlook. Looking ahead, we remain focused on continuously strengthening our competitiveness and our profitability. Our efficiency programme is on track and delivering as planned, supported by the first wave of employee departures completed at the end of March. We therefore expect the full cost saving effect to materialise from 2027 onwards. Our financial position remains strong. At the end of Q1 2026, Economic net cash stood at 4.4 billion euros, a plus of around 1.6 billion euros compared to year-end 2025. In addition to the good operating performance, especially our strong operating cash flow boosted by our economic net cash position, and I'll pick this up later. We also strengthened our financial position for the next year by extending our 3 billion euros syndicated credit facility until 2029. providing continued flexibility and stability. On the next slide, I would like to outline how recent market developments have impacted our business. Over the past two months, investors and analysts have been looking more closely at the impact of the sharp increase in commodity prices and the resulting volatility in the energy market on Uniper's business performance. I'd like to emphasize a main point straight away. Namely, the de-risking of our portfolio has been successful so far. We do not source gas from the Middle East region and we are not directly affected by the Strait of Hormuz closure. Unlike in 2021 and 2022, rising commodity and electricity prices have not impacted our financial position and we are now even seeing cash inflows from collateral for forward contracts. At Uniper, we typically leverage our portfolio to maximise opportunities during periods of increasing spreads and price volatility. We have been optimising hedge positions in our gas midstream operations and power generation business. New forward deals have been signed with better spreads available in certain periods of preferable price fluctuations. However, the persistent and hard-to-predict economic challenges in Europe, coupled with a cautious approach from customers, are the boundaries for the potential to create substantially increased returns, and a comprehensive assessment of the Uniper Group's recent earnings trends requires consideration beyond the commodity price perspective alone. During the first quarter of 2026, earnings were positively impacted by favourable developments in electricity prices in the Nordic markets, driven primarily by weather-related conditions, independent of the increase in gas prices. Overall, through effective forward hedging and strategic position optimisation since the beginning of the year, we have achieved improved visibility and enhanced confidence in our capacity to meet the financial outlook for 2026, even if things get bumpier. And whilst the short-term outlook for global commodity markets remains uncertain, the German government has finally offered greater clarity on measures to make the country's electricity market more resilient for the future, which is a significant milestone. for the sector. This is good news for Uniper and moves us nearer to engaging in the auctions, thereby executing our major growth investments. The German Ministry of Economic Affairs is seeking final approval for a bill that includes the proposal for the establishment of a permanent capacity market commencing in autumn 2031. The currently discussed draft bill also integrates the construction of new power plants into this support scheme, aiming to significantly enhance system stability. The bill demonstrates how the government plans to tackle the risk caused by diminishing electricity baseload capacity following the exit from nuclear and coal in Germany. It addresses the issue of bridging extended dunkerflauten, times when power generation from wind and solar are low, as well as increased supply challenges in southern Germany. And approximately 11 gigawatts of new capacity is sought. mainly consisting of gas-fired power plants that are hydrogen-ready and highly reliable, especially throughout the winter. And Uniper is ready to play its part with delivering its already advanced project developments at its site in Staudinger near Frankfurt and Scholden in the Ruhr area. Uniper plans to install 870 megawatts of hydrogen-ready CCGT units at each location, and we started developing the project early I have also worked closely with the relevant authorities and local councils to advance sections of the complex approval process. Successful participation in the planned auctions will allow us to achieve COD before 1st November 2031. This leads me to a broader strategic perspective. A successful execution in the planned auctions would materially fill the gap of our planned €5 billion spend until 2030. of which about half is allocated to the flexible generation segment for new power plant construction, or the extension of operating lifetimes for existing gas-fired power plants. Together with more clarity for the whole power generation portfolio, backed by a newly introduced permanent capacity market, this will provide much more visibility for Unipers earnings prospects into the 2030s. But now, back from promising prospects in the present, Turning to the quarterly figures in more detail, I will hand over to Christian. Christian.

Disclaimer

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