Finnish utility Fortum reported a sharp drop in second-quarter profit, citing struggles with its core nuclear and hydropower assets, while announcing a major acquisition to expand its wind power portfolio.
Comparable operating profit for the April-to-June period fell to 115 million euros from 233 million euros a year earlier, due to lower generation volumes and power prices, the company said Friday.
Fortum attributed the lower output to reduced hydro inflows and an extended outage at its Oskarshamn nuclear plant in Sweden.
For the first half of the year, comparable operating profit was 577 million euros, down from 763 million euros.
Pivoting toward renewables, Fortum announced after the quarter ended that it acquired a 4.4 gigawatt wind power development portfolio in Finland from Germany's ABO Energy.
The deal brings Fortum's pipeline of onshore wind and solar projects in the permitting phase across the Nordic countries to approximately 8 gigawatts, according to the company.
“This acquisition strengthens Fortum’s development pipeline for renewable power as we prepare for future growth by developing ready-to-build projects in the Nordic countries,” Chief Executive Markus Rauramo said in a statement.
The company updated its outlook, saying it expects total generation volumes for 2025 to be “clearly below the normal level”.
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Fortum reported a drop in third-quarter profit, citing lower power generation from its nuclear and hydro plants which also pushed its net debt higher.
Fitch Ratings upgraded Fortum's long-term credit rating to BBB+ from BBB, citing the Finnish energy company's improved financial strength and sustained reduction in debt.