Vestas reports 2022 loss of EUR 1.57bn

Vestas Wind Systems A/S (CPH:VWS) on Wednesday posted a 2022 loss of EUR 1.57 billion (USD 1.69bn) against a profit of EUR 143 million for 2021 amid geo-political uncertainty, high inflation, and supply chain constraints.

The Danish wind turbine maker saw its operating result (EBIT) turn to a loss of EUR 1.6 billion from a profit of EUR 289 million a year back. Before special items, the operating loss amounted to EUR 1.15 billion versus a profit of EUR 428 million in 2021.

As reported in late January, the company has generated a full-year revenue of EUR 14.486 billion, just below the lower end of its previous outlook for EUR 14.5 billion-15.5 billion. It blamed the decline on the Russia/Ukraine exit and project delays.

In 2022, Vestas achieved 13.3 GW of deliveries and a firm order intake of 11.2 GW. The wind turbine order intake was down 19% in terms of gigawatts but up 3% in value due to strong price hikes.

Group president and CEO Henrik Andersen referred to the company’s full-year financial results as unsatisfying, noting that “external headwinds and industry immaturity hampered profitability.”

“Throughout 2022, increasing costs, product impairments and increased warranty provisions heavily impacted our profitability and resulted in an EBIT margin of minus 8 percent. Everyone at Vestas is therefore fully focused on returning to profitability in 2023 to reaffirm that we are on the right strategic path,” Andersen stated.

The company reiterated the 2023 outlook it provided just recently, including for revenue of EUR 14 billion-15.5 billion. It also guided for growth of at least 5% in Service segment revenue, with a service EBIT margin of about 22%.

In its annual report, Vestas says it expects high inflation levels throughout the supply chain and reduced wind power installations to have a negative impact on revenue and profitability in 2023.

Vestas’ board of directors proposes to the Annual General Meeting that no dividend is paid to the shareholders in 2023.

(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.076)

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