KASSEL (dpa-AFX) - Following a billion-dollar loss from the termination of its Russian operations, oil and gas company Wintershall Dea is realigning its business. The focus will be on moderate growth in oil and natural gas exploration and production as well as the expansion of the carbon management and hydrogen business, Mario Mehren, chairman of the board of the BASF majority-owned company, said in Kassel on Thursday. 2022 was an extremely challenging year, he said. However, he said, the company remains strong and stable. He said countries such as Mexico, Algeria, Norway and Argentina were being targeted as growth markets.

The withdrawal from Russia was a tough but correct decision - even if it could not be implemented overnight. Nevertheless, there was no turning back because there was no hope of an improvement in the situation. Mehren said he remains shocked by the Russian war of aggression and its effects on the people of Ukraine.

Apart from the consequences of the halted Russian business, the company benefited last year from higher oil and gas prices. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and exploration costs (Ebitdax) 2022 rose to just over 5.9 billion euros, compared with around 3.1 billion the previous year.

The bottom line was a loss attributable to shareholders of 4.85 billion euros due to billions of euros in depreciation and amortization. This included non-cash impairment charges of almost seven billion euros, mainly write-downs on business in Russia. In 2021 the company had still made a profit attributable to shareholders of 553 million euros.

In addition, the Group also took impairment charges on the company's European gas transport business and completely wrote down its stake in the pipeline company Nord Stream AG. Adjusted for special effects such as the write-down in particular, net income excluding the Russia business increased from 403 million to 928 million euros thanks to a sharp rise in oil and gas prices.

Wintershall Dea emerged from the merger of Wintershall Holding and Dea in 2019. The company, based in Kassel and Hamburg, employs just under 2,500 people worldwide. BASF holds a good 70 percent, the rest belongs to LetterOne, an investment company in which Russian oligarch Mikhail Fridman has pooled his Dea shares./mne/jha/DP/jha