The ratings reflect Fortum's position as one of the largest integrated utilities in the Nordic region, its diversified and competitive generation portfolio, and its stable electricity distribution and heat operations. These strengths are partly offset by the company's exposure to the competitive Nordic electricity wholesale and supply markets, volatile wholesale power prices, exposure to the higher-risk Russian market, and significant capital expenditure program. The ratings further reflects our methodology for rating government-related entities and our opinion that there is a "moderate" likelihood that the Finnish government will provide timely and sufficient extraordinary support in the event of financial distress. We assess Fortum's stand-alone credit profile at 'A-'. Fortum proved resilient in 2009 despite a steep decline in both power demand
