BERLIN (Reuters) -Uniper expects better earnings in 2024 than previously forecast thanks to a strong first six months of the year, the German utility said on Wednesday, lifting its shares 4.2%.

Uniper now expects 2024 adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) in a range of 1.9 to 2.4 billion euros ($2.06-$2.60 billion), according to a company statement, up from a previously forecast range of 1.5 to 2 billion.

Adjusted net income for the full year is now seen between 1.1 and 1.5 billion euros, versus a previously expected range of between 700 million and 1.1 billion.

These targets are still significantly lower than in 2023, as wholesale power and gas prices normalise after rising sharply in the wake of the Ukraine war, when Europe severed most energy ties with Russia.

For the first half of 2024, Uniper reported adjusted EBITDA of 1.7 billion euros, down from 4.1 billion a year prior, and adjusted net income of 1.1 billion euros, down from 2.5 billion in the same period of 2023.

Detailed results for the first half of the year are expected on Aug. 8.

($1 = 0.9237 euros)

(Writing by Rachel More, editing by Kirsti Knolle)