EU companies suffer over $110bn in direct losses from operations in Russia

The largest European companies have suffered more than Є100 billion ($110 billion) in direct losses from their operations in Russia since the launch of the special military operation in Ukraine in February 2022, the Financial Times reported Sunday.

A survey of annual reports and 2023 financial statements of 600 European groups showed that 176 companies have experienced asset impairments, foreign exchange-related charges and other one-off expenses as a result of the sale, closure or reduction of Russian businesses, the report said.

Oil and gas companies have faced the biggest writedowns and charges, with BP, Shell and TotalEnergies having reported combined charges of 40.6 billion euros, the report said. Utilities have experienced a direct hit of 14.7 billion euros, while industrial companies, including car-makers, suffered a loss of 13.6 billion euros, and financial firms, including banks, insurers and investment companies, lost about 17.5 billion euros in writedowns and other charges, the analysis showed.

At the same time, losses in the energy sector have been far outweighed by higher oil and gas prices, with BP, Shell and TotalEnergies reporting bumper aggregate profits of some 95 billion euros in 2022. Shares of defense companies have also been boosted by the conflict in Ukraine, the report said.

The publication also cited the Kiev School of Economics as saying that over 50% of the 1,871 European-owned entities operating in Russia before the launch of the operation are still working in Russia, including Italian bank UniCredit, Austrian bank Raiffeisen, Swiss food company Nestle and the United Kingdom's consumer packaged goods company Unilever.