Finnish Gasum Gains on Gas Growth

Finnish state utility Gasum reported an operating profit for 2019 of €141.4mn ($153mn), 14% up on 2018, despite a 4% year on year drop in revenue to €1.13bn thanks to lower gas prices. Return on equity was also up, from 13.3% to 13.6%, it said February 19.

It expects prices to remain low until the end of 2020, "which will affect the Finnish and Baltic gas markets, too. We can also expect to see increasing price fluctuations, with gas price hedging becoming an even more important part of the operations of companies." 

Gasum is optimistic about the future of gas: Finland has banned coal-fired power by 2030, which it said "may increase Finnish use of natural gas during the transition period. Industrial use of gas is forecast to grow in the coming years as it can help achieve significant emission cuts cost-effectively compared with petroleum-based fuel."

The company has also been working to expand the role of natural gas in transport by building infrastructure, and it is also promoting biogas, where it sees more business in the future. So far biogas accounts for only a fraction of its potential. it said, but its "Lohja and Nymolla biogas plant projects in Finland and Sweden as well as several co-operation projects will strengthen growth in biogas volumes. The expansion of the Turku biogas plant in Finland was completed in 2019 and the commercial production of liquefied biogas will start in early 2020."

The number of gas vehicles is now above 10,000 in Finland and above 50,000 in Sweden. Around 150 tractor units powered by LNG started operating on Finnish and Swedish roads during 2019.