LONDON/FRANKFURT, Might 15 (Reuters) – German power companies Sefe and Uniper (UN01.DE) have awarded some merchants thousands and thousands of {dollars} in bonuses for 2022, 4 sources accustomed to the matter stated, simply months after the businesses had been rescued with multi-billion bailouts as Russia halted fuel provides.
Germany has up to now supplied round 26 billion euros ($28.6 billion) in fairness injections and loans to Sefe and Uniper after they incurred report losses buying pure fuel cargoes at report costs to exchange misplaced provide from Russia – Germany’s prime fuel provider earlier than the invasion of Ukraine.
Whereas paying bonuses at bailed-out power teams raises questions round the usage of taxpayers’ cash, it additionally highlights the necessity for the businesses to stay aggressive.
Each Sefe – brief for Securing Vitality for Europe – and Uniper needed to conform to wage limits for his or her administration boards as a part of the bailouts however the bonus caps don’t apply to all employees.
One of many sources stated 200 of Sefe’s merchants in London had acquired a whole bunch of thousands and thousands of {dollars} in bonuses, including mid-level merchants had acquired $5 million-$7 million every. Two of the opposite individuals stated that beneficiant subsidies had been paid at each Sefe and Uniper.
Sefe, the previous German division of Russia’s Gazprom (GAZP.MM), stated the efficiency of its workers justified remuneration that rewards their contribution to safety of provide, with out offering specifics.
“This retains Sefe aggressive within the human sources market to have the ability to procure fuel and hydrogen for the German market sooner or later,” the corporate stated in e-mailed feedback, including that general personnel prices for 2021, the final yr for which the knowledge is offered, had been 330 million euros.
[1/2] View in the direction of Nord Stream 1 Baltic Sea pipeline and the switch station of the Baltic Sea Pipeline Hyperlink within the industrial space of Lubmin, Germany, August 30, 2022. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner/File Picture
Uniper confirmed that bonuses had been paid to buying and selling employees for 2022 however beneath the extent of the earlier yr. “Competitors for merchants within the power trade is intense. A zero bonus is subsequently not applicable,” the corporate stated.
Competitors for merchants is at the moment scorching with rivals reminiscent of Vitol and Trafigura reporting billions of {dollars} in annual revenue, benefiting from the acute value volatility following Russia’s invasion of its neighbour.
Merchants are sometimes remunerated based mostly on a share of the revenue they make on their buying and selling e-book and it’s not uncommon for them to make greater than an organization chief govt. BP’s Chief Govt Bernard Looney, for instance, earned $12 million final yr.
Germany’s Economic system Ministry, which is overseeing Berlin’s possession of Sefe, stated circumstances set by the European Fee are decisive for remuneration points, including that solely the corporate can touch upon how these are being met.
The Finance Ministry, which is accountable for the federal government’s possession of Uniper, additionally referred questions on working points together with employees remuneration to the corporate.
Sefe’s London-based buying and selling division employs round 830 employees, in keeping with the group’s web site, whereas Uniper’s international buying and selling section has round 1,400 workers.
($1 = 0.9084 euros)
Reporting by Dmitry Zhdannikov and Marwa Rashad in London and Christoph Steitz in Frankfurt; Modifying by Kirsten Donovan
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