Liquidity and refinancing risks
The power and heat business is capital intensive. Consequently, Fortum has a regular need to raise financing.
In order to manage these risks, Fortum maintains a diversified financing structure in terms of debt maturity profile, debt instruments and geographical markets. Fortum manages liquidity and refinancing risks through a combination of cash positions and committed credit facility agreements with its
core banks. Fortum shall at all times have access to cash, bank deposits and unused committed credit facilities, including overdrafts, to cover all loans maturing within the next twelve-month period.
Interest rate risks
Fortum's debt portfolio consists of interest-bearing assets and liabilities on a fixed- and floating-rate basis with differing maturity profiles. Fortum manages the duration of the debt portfolio by entering into different types of financing contracts and interest rate derivative contracts, such as interest rate swaps and forward rate agreements (FRAs).
Fortum has cash flows, assets and liabilities in currencies other than the euro. Changes in exchange rates can therefore
have an effect on Fortum's earnings and balance sheet. The main currency exposures are EUR/SEK, arising from Fortum's extensive operations in Sweden and EUR/RUB from translation exposure of OAO Fortum in Russia.
Fortum's currency exposures are divided into transaction exposures (foreign exchange exposures relating to contracted cash flows and balance sheet items where changes in exchange rates will have an impact on earnings and cash flows) and translation exposure (foreign exchange exposure that arises when profits and balance sheets in foreign entities are consolidated at the Group level). For transaction risks, the main principle is that all material exposures are hedged while translation exposures are not hedged or are hedged selectively.