Vestas Wind Systems A/S (CPH:VWS) expects earnings to improve further this year after returning to profitability in 2023 as the Danish company turns the page on an industry-wide crisis that slowed the development of projects.
The world’s biggest turbine maker sees the margin for full-year earnings before interest and taxes in the range of 4% to 6%, it said in a statement on Wednesday. That builds on the momentum that started at the tail end of last year, following a flood of orders from the US to Australia.
© Supplied by BloombergThe improved outlook follows the turmoil — due to soaring raw-materials prices, higher borrowing costs, and persistent supply-chain issues — that has hit manufacturers and developers alike. Although several announced orders won’t be executed in 2024, and no dividends will be paid to shareholders, the company will pay employee bonus for the first time in four years.
“We have been through a tough period and now our guidance for this year reflects the fact that the path that we’re on is moving ahead as we in many ways would like to see it,“ Chief Financial Officer Hans Martin Smith said in a phone interview.
Shares jumped as much as 8.4% in early Copenhagen trading, the most in three months, before paring gains slightly.
While Vestas is over the worst, others in the wind industry are still suffering. Siemens Energy AG expect its cash outflows to continue to deepen into 2025 as repairs of its defective turbines will take several years. And it will take until 2026 for its Spanish wind unit Gamesa to break even, the company said, reiterating previous guidance.
On the developer side, Denmark’s Orsted A/S said it will pause dividend payments until at least 2025 and slash plans to build new projects this decade as part of a wide array of cost-cutting measures
Vestas reported a record 18.4 gigawatts of new turbine orders last year. That comes on top of a 20-gigawatt backlog and higher prices for turbines. An expected growth in onshore wind in the US, combined with a bumper auction pipeline, should also support the company this year.
Vestas posted €231 million in earnings before interest, taxes and special items for 2023, beating analyst estimates of €186.5 million. That compares with a loss of €1.15 billion for 2022.
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