Siemens Energy replaces federal guarantee with a new bank facility

Siemens Energy has completed the planned replacement of the €11 billion facility backed by the German federal government. A new €9 billion facility, together with existing guarantee lines, will continue to support and underpin the company’s large-scale project business. The €1 billion facility previously backed by Siemens AG has also been replaced under the new agreement.

Maria Ferraro, CFO of Siemens Energy, said: “The federal government's counter-guarantee was instrumental in 2023 during a challenging phase to secure our strong anticipated growth. Due to our performance in the past two years and the positive market environment we were able to improve margins, cash flow and strengthen our balance sheet. This enabled us to replace the facility before the end of our fiscal year and deliver on our commitment as promised.”

The new facility with a term of 5 years is provided by an expanded consortium of 23 international banks.

Guarantees are a standard industry instrument to secure advance payments, performance, or warranty guarantees over the entire duration of projects. These guarantees are issued by banks for a fee. In practice, guarantees are rarely called upon, with a default rate of less than 0.5 percent.

In 2023, Siemens Energy had an order backlog of over €100 billion for the first time, which required correspondingly high guarantee commitments. Due to Siemens Energy's risk profile which at the time was affected by the announcement of provisions at the wind business, banks were reluctant to provide unsecured guarantees.

As a result, the German government provided a counter-guarantee in the amount of €7.5 billion. In return, the federal government received an annual fee without having to make any payments to Siemens Energy.