Energy company could see £3m revenue hit if Russia’s Gazprom energy collapses
Lancashire-headquartered listed energy company Inspired has warned that there would be a £3m impact on revenues if the British arm of Russian energy giant Gazprom collapses.
The firm has responded to reports over the weekend that Gazprom Energy, based in Manchester, has approached rivals touting itself for sale as major clients pull out.
Gazprom Energy provides over 20% of gas used by UK companies.
According to the Sunday Times, key clients including fast-food giant McDonald’s, German conglomerate Siemens and waste company Biffa have all confirmed to the newspaper they are in talks with Gazprom about exiting multimillion-pound contracts with the supplier.
The paper said the company was racing to find a buyer but has had little interest.
Inspired said Gazprom is a significant gas supplier to businesses across the UK, including both clients of Inspired and businesses within its supply chains.
Its board estimates that approximately 5% of group revenues, all within Inspired’s Energy Assurance services division, are dependent upon clients that are contracted with Gazprom.
It said should Gazprom cease trading “and the disruption arising from this not be possible to mitigate in the short term”, the potential impact could be up to around £3m to its expected FY2022 EBITDA.
It added that if such “an extreme scenario occurs” Inspired would still “comfortably be able to meet its banking covenant and liquidity tests and therefore, continue to operate as a going concern.”
Mark Dickinson, CEO of Inspired, said: “Whilst the potential impact on the financial performance of the Group should Gazprom cease to trade in the UK would be disappointing, these factors are unfortunately outside of the Group’s control.
“We have proactively considered the impact of this event in its entirety and are already focused on the mitigating actions we can take by supporting clients with contract replacement. Inspired remains focused on helping its clients manage their costs and sustainability challenges through this crisis.
“With regard to the invasion of Ukraine, I am sure many share our shock at the abhorrent actions of the Russian regime and our hope that the war and resulting humanitarian crisis ends soon with a peaceful resolution.”
Gazprom’s chief executive Alexei Miller is a close ally of Vladimir Putin and has been sanctioned by the UK, but the company itself remains free of Western measures.
The three Russian directors of Gazprom Marketing & Trading Retail, the registered company behind the energy supply arm, have resigned.
The energy supplier does not directly sell Russian gas. However, it resells gas from the National Grid, which includes supplies from the North Sea and other sources.
