Uniper Pays Higher Dividend, Expands Gas

Uniper CEO Klaus Schafer told shareholders June 6 that the company's "unique portfolio, deep technical and commercial expertise, and outstanding team of employees" had helped it to meet its financial targets. As a result, it could pay out a dividend of €271mn for the 2017 financial year which corresponds to €0.74/share, compared with €0.55/share a year ago relating to 2016.

He said Uniper has refined its strategy and identified future growth areas, including sales of process steam from certain plants directly to customers and partners. This will make Uniper less dependent on revenues from fluctuating energy prices, he said. Conversion from coal to technologically advanced gas-fired co-generation is part of the plan too: its Scholven power station in Gelsenkirchen, which provides a range of energy sources to nearby chemical producers, will between now and year-end 2022 gradually turn into a gas plant.

Another key growth area is the strengthening of its midstream pipeline and liquefied natural gas business, which Uniper intends to further expand regionally and globally. LNG is playing an increasingly important role in Asia as well as the US and Europe. Uniper will aim not only to provide customers with LNG fuel but also with individually tailored energy solutions for LNG. For example, Uniper signed a declaration of intent in the United Arab Emirates to supply power plants with LNG and to construct a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU).

Uniper's partner in that FSRU project said late 2017 that the intention is to award a charter 2Q2018 with the intention of having the FSRU operational in 2019 - one year behind its original target.