Uniper Develops Long-Term Dividend Policy After Paying €0.72 for 2025
Key Facts
Uniper is working on a comprehensive framework for a long-term dividend policy that combines payment continuity with business flexibility, the company said, without confirming that a final policy has been adopted. The move comes after shareholders approved a dividend of €0.72 per share for fiscal 2025 at the annual general meeting on May 20, 2026. The company says attractive dividends are part of its efforts to enhance shareholder value, while upcoming dates offer an opportunity to present its financial and strategic direction. The issue has gained significance as the German government seeks to reprivatize the company, with an initial public offering or a direct sale under consideration. But the government will determine the form and timing of the process, the CEO said.
The 2025 dividend marks a return to payments after a three-fiscal-year hiatus. According to Uniper’s published dividend record, the amount was €0.07 per share for 2021; the company paid no dividends for 2022, 2023 or 2024, before the amount rose to €0.72 for 2025. This path alone does not establish the amount or regularity of future dividends: the company said its long-term framework remains under development and will balance continuity with business flexibility. Adjusted net income fell in 2025 to €544 million from €1.653 billion in 2024, despite the company saying it had met its financial targets. In March 2025, Uniper paid the German government €2.551 billion to settle repayment claims related to government support.
The dividend policy is progressing alongside the German government’s reprivatization process, which includes an initial public offering or a direct sale among the options under consideration. The government invited interested parties to submit expressions of interest by June 12, with UBS and JP Morgan serving as coordinators, according to a Reuters report via MarketScreener. Uniper’s CEO said, "The form and timing of the reprivatization will be determined by the German federal government." The government said it would take the company’s continuity and energy supply security into account. The government held 99.12% of the company at the end of 2025, while Uniper’s share price fell about 16% that year. A Reuters Breakingviews commentary noted that the effort to keep the company’s various activities under one roof rests on a rationale it described as "questionable" in terms of energy security.
Uniper provided a more recent indication of its financial performance on November 4, when it raised its 2026 adjusted net income forecast by €50 million to a range of €550 million to €650 million. The revision was based on preliminary, unaudited nine-month results showing adjusted net income of €579 million. The update comes ahead of the official publication of the nine-month report on November 10, a date that may add detail to the picture of performance during the year. The company also set November 16 for its capital markets day, when it will present its strategy and growth ambitions. Uniper describes the day as an opportunity to explain its direction, and lists plans for an attractive dividend policy and enhanced shareholder value among its priorities.
These developments come against a mixed backdrop for German industry. Industrial production rose 0.7% in September 2026 from August, after seasonal and calendar adjustments, but output in the third quarter remained 0.4% below its level in the second quarter, according to Destatis. The agency attributed part of the monthly increase to a 17.1% rise in car production following low levels in the previous two months, and to 8.0% growth in pharmaceutical production. In orders, manufacturing recorded a monthly increase of 4.4% in September, rising to 5.1% when large orders were excluded. This followed a 10.1% decline in August orders, according to revised data, making the monthly comparison relative to a low base in the previous month.
Sources of September’s order growth included a 10.5% increase in car orders from August, alongside an 8.3% rise in orders for machinery and equipment, according to Destatis. The agency said a large order for engines and turbines contributed to the latter increase. These figures place Uniper’s activity in an industrial environment that saw monthly improvements in production and orders, while output remained weak quarter on quarter. For the company, the near-term milestones are the November 10 report and the November 16 capital markets day, while the decision on the reprivatization path and its timing remains in the hands of the German government. Until the company announces a complete framework, €0.72 per share remains the approved dividend for 2025, not an announced basis for future dividends.