To determine Fortum Oyj's suitability to issue hybrid bonds, we need to evaluate its industry profile, capital structure, and financial stability, particularly focusing on its continuing operations: 1. **Industry and Business Model**: Fortum is a major European utility company. The utility sector is inherently capital-intensive with relatively predictable and regulated long-term cash flows. This sector is historically the most frequent and successful issuer of corporate hybrid bonds, as companies use them to fund infrastructure investments or optimize their capital structures while defending their credit ratings. 2. **Capital Structure and Leverage**: Fortum experienced a substantial shock in 2022 due to the deconsolidation and divestment of Uniper, reflected in the massive net loss from discontinued operations (-11.3 billion EUR) and a drastic reduction in total assets (from 149.6 billion EUR to 23.6 billion EUR). As a result, its equity base was significantly reduced to 7.7 billion EUR. When a company with solid core operations suffers an extraordinary loss of equity, hybrid bonds are an extremely attractive tool to quickly repair the balance sheet and bolster credit metrics (since rating agencies typically grant hybrid bonds 50% equity credit) without heavily diluting existing shareholders at depressed valuations. 3. **Profitability of Continuing Operations**: Despite the losses from discontinued operations, Fortum's core continuing operations remain robust. For 2022, Comparable EBITDA stood at 2.43 billion EUR (up from 2.01 billion EUR in 2021) and the Profit from Continuing Operations was roughly 1.01 billion EUR. This strong standalone profitability demonstrates the company's ability to easily service the coupons on hybrid debt. 4. **Cash Flow**: The company generated over 2.1 billion EUR in cash flows from operating activities related to continuing operations, showing excellent liquidity and cash-conversion capabilities to support hybrid dividend payments. Given its status as a large European utility, the strong cash-generating capacity of its remaining core operations, and the strategic need to shore up its equity base following large one-off divestment losses, Fortum perfectly fits the profile of a prime corporate hybrid bond issuer. Strongly Suitable