Fortum Q3 Operating Profit Misses at EUR 102M; Data Center Demand Holds

Fortum reported third-quarter comparable operating profit of EUR 102 million on Oct. 28, up from EUR 97 million a year earlier but just below the EUR 105 million analyst consensus, Reuters reported.

The Finnish utility also trimmed its 2026 nuclear generation forecast to about 23.0 TWh from a previous 23.0 to 23.5 TWh, and its shares fell about 3%, according to Reuters. Fortum's own report attributes the profit increase to higher nuclear volumes in the Generation segment.

Data centre demand: strong, but gradual

CEO Markus Rauramo said in the interim report that long-term electricity demand remains robust, particularly from data centres, with activity in Finland at a very high level. He added that near-term realisation is gradual and that industrial electrification projects are moving at different speeds.

Rauramo told Reuters he expects some projects to stall on permitting and other issues, which is why Fortum keeps a large project pipeline. The company says it is in dialogue with a broad range of customers and is prioritising large strategic partnerships and repeat customers.

Google deal and the Loviisa plant

The report points to the 22-year nuclear power purchase agreement (PPA) with Google as the largest sales agreement in Fortum's history. Fortum describes it as the first large-scale lifetime-extension nuclear PPA in Europe. It starts in 2028, with up to 50% of the Loviisa plant's generation capacity contracted in 2030-2049, as Voltgrid reported on the Loviisa deal.

Fortum says the contract gives economic certainty for the lifetime extension and power upgrade of Loviisa through 2050. Alongside the PPA, the two companies signed a memorandum of understanding on possible cooperation in renewables, flexibility solutions, nuclear newbuild and portfolio management services. A memorandum of understanding is not a contract.

Numbers behind the quarter

For January to September, comparable operating profit was EUR 729 million against EUR 674 million, and comparable EBITDA was EUR 967 million. Net debt stood at EUR 1.8 billion, or 1.4 times comparable EBITDA. Fortum's estimated Nordic generation hedges are about 80% of Nordic generation at EUR 43 per MWh for the rest of 2026 and about 70% at EUR 42 per MWh for 2027.

After the period, Fortum completed its purchase of 91.92% of Norwegian retailer Elmera Group, to be consolidated from Oct. 31.

What is not confirmed yet

Fortum gave no data-centre-specific revenue or load figure in the summary, so the size of near-term demand from Finnish data centres is not quantified. The pace at which that demand turns into signed contracts is the item to watch.