Media releases and news

• The Gasum Group’s revenue was down 4.2% year on year, totaling €1,127.6 million (1–12/2018: €1,177.4 million)

• The Group’s operating profit totaled €141.4 million, up 13.9% year on year (€124.2 million).

• Capital expenditure increased the alance sheet total to €1,648.3 million (December 31, 2018: €1,526.6 million).

• The Gasum Group’s financial position remained strong in the reporting period, with the equity ratio being 44.7% (December 31, 2018: 43.7%).

   

KEY FIGURES*

*Include continuing and discontinued operations.

CEO Johanna Lamminen comments on 2019:

“In 2019, we took purposeful steps to advance our strategy and developed the Nordic gas market, enabling an even broader offering of low-emission energy solutions in response to growing demand among industrial as well as road and maritime transport customers.

Our Group’s financial performance developed in line with our expectations. The Group’s revenue totaled €1,128 million, down 4.2% year on year (€1,177 million). The decline in revenue was caused primarily by the development in the sales price of gas. Our operating profit was €141.4 million, up 13.9% year on year (€124.2 million).

At the turn of the year, the Finnish pipeline gas market was opened up to competition and the unbundling of Gasum’s transmission business was completed as a new company, Gasgrid Finland Oy, commenced its operations on January 1, 2020. Gasum has prepared for the opening up of the gas market and the broadening competition by developing products and services. Our company has decades of expertise in gas and in the provision of com-prehensive energy solutions and energy market services.

Another important step in the development of the Nordic gas market was taken by us when we signed the deal on the acquisition AGA’s Clean Energy business and Nauticor’s Marine Bunkering business from Linde AG. The transaction promotes our strategy by further expanding our supply of energy solutions for industrial as well as road and maritime transport needs. It also speeds up the implementation of Gasum’s growth strategy focusing on cleaner transport solutions in the Nordic countries. The acquisition is awaiting approval by the competition authorities and anticipated to be completed during 2020.

We expanded our Nordic gas filling station network by 13 new stations. The opening of the new stations supports national emission reduction targets by facilitating a switch in Nordic transport to cleaner fuel solutions. Gas is a cost-efficient fuel that can be used to replace conventional fuels and make significant emission cuts rapidly.

We are continuing to increase the biogas market and biogas production capacity. Biogas business development supports our efforts to increase the size of the transport market, which is a key element of our strategy for road as well as maritime transport. As a low-emission fuel, gas will gain a bigger role in the future as action against climate change requires a transition to cleaner solutions.”

Read more about Gasum Group Financial result Q4 2019 >

In recent years, Gasum has been investing purposefully in building the Nordic gas ecosystem. In addition to the gas market, Gasum also aims to respond to customers’ energy needs by operating in an active role in the power market, too.  

"Membership in the Nordic power exchange is one step for Gasum in our action to strengthen our role as a Nordic energy company. Gas provides a strong foundation for our company, and in recent years we’ve been investing in the development of the LNG as well as the biogas market and in building the Nordic gas ecosystem. By assuming an active role in the power market, too, we’ll be able to act even better as our customers’ strategic partner when seeking solutions towards a carbon-neutral society", says Gasum CEO Johanna Lamminen.

Nasdaq OMX Commodities is a marketplace for derivatives that can be used to hedge power prices against future market risks. 

Gasum’s offering supported by Energy Market Services

In recent years, Gasum has been building its position systematically in the power market. In an acquisition completed in 2018, Finland’s leading company providing energy market services became part of the Gasum Group. Operating as part of Gasum’s Energy Market Services, Gasum Portfolio Services offers its customers power market risk management and portfolio management services, managing an annual total of around 20 terawatt hours of power on behalf of customers. Operating under an investment service authorization, Gasum Portfolio Services is also a member of Nasdaq OMX.

Gasum Energy Market Services also cover physical power services and services such as the 24/7 Control Room service monitoring market developments and customers’ power balance fluctuations. Gasum Ltd participates in the power market by trading in power market products with its partners and customers.

"We have a unique position in the energy market as a broad-scale actor and expert. This helps us serve our customers sustainably in a changing operating environment and utilize the potential available in energy sourcing and market comprehensively", Johanna Lamminen sums up.
 

The new gas filling station is in an area with heavy traffic where fuel consumption is high and the need for clean fuel solutions is rising rapidly. The inauguration of Umeå’s first gas filling station takes place on February 5. The station serves both HDVs and passenger cars: HDVs can fill up on liquefied biogas (LBG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG), while compressed natural gas (CNG) and biogas (CBG) are suitable for passenger cars, delivery vehicles, waste management vehicles and buses.

“As the gas station network expands, gas becomes available to more actors in the transport sector, which in turn increases the demand for gas. At the end of last year, we opened a new gas station in Östersund, which together with the Umeå station enables gas-fueled vehicles to be used across Sweden,” says Mikael Antonsson, Director of Traffic at Gasum Sweden.

LNG and LBG go hand in hand

The increasing amount of new stations is a key factor in reducing emissions, particularly in the long-haul road transport segment. Heavy-duty transport currently accounts for up to 30% of Europe’s CO₂ emissions from road transport. According to the new emission standards passed by the EU in 2019, greenhouse gas emissions from heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs) are to be reduced by 30% by 2030. The national target in Sweden is to reduce road transport emissions by 70% by 2030, as compared to 2010 levels.

“Using cleaner fuel solutions is an important factor in Sandahls’ environmental strategy work. The new gas filling stations are vital since they enable us to reduce our emissions and meet our customers’ needs of having low-emission logistic chains. I’m glad that we’re able to use LBG-fueled trucks in Umeå,” explains Johan Ebefors, CEO at Sandahls Goods and Parcel.

LNG offers a competitive fuel solution for reducing emissions immediately as its lifecycle CO₂ emissions are more than 20% lower than those of fossil diesel. The Umeå station also provides liquefied biogas (LBG), which is produced according to the principles of circular economy from biowaste. Being the first gas filling station in the region, it creates a base for further biogas investments in the area as well as offering a cleaner fuel solution for local companies and the municipality. With LBG, CO₂ emissions can be reduced by up to 85% compared to fossil diesel. LBG can be used in the same infrastructure as LNG, making the shift to LBG easy and cost efficient.

“Biogas is a high-performance renewable fuel. New stations accelerate the usage of biogas-fueled vehicles, which is why the new station is not only important for the Umeå region but for Sweden as well,” says Anna Säfvestad Albinsson, Project Leader at BioFuel Region AB, Umeå.