Vestas Wind Systems A/S (CPH:VWS) today posted a net loss of EUR 147 million (USD 146.2m) for the third quarter of 2022 versus a profit of EUR 116 million a year back and revised down the upper end of its prior revenue guidance for the full year.
The Danish wind turbine maker saw its quarterly revenue drop by 29% on the year to EUR 3.91 billion mainly because of lower deliveries in Northern Europe and the US, and due to various delays caused by transportation and project execution challenges.
“In the third quarter, our profitability improved along the lines of our expectations but remained heavily impacted by cost inflation and supply chain disruption, which resulted in an EBIT margin of minus 3.2% and an adjustment of our guidance,” commented group president and CEO Henrik Andersen.
For the full year, the company now expects revenue in the range of EUR 14.5 billion-15.5 billion rather than the EUR-14.5-billion-16 billion projected after the first quarter. The earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margin before special items is now seen at minus 5% instead of in the range of minus 5% to zero.
The table below gives more information on Vestas’ Q3 and nine-month financial performance.
| Figures in EUR million, except percentages |
Q2 2022 |
Q2 2021 |
9mo 2022 |
9mo 2021 |
| Revenue |
3,913 |
5,538 |
9,703 |
11,036 |
| Gross profit |
161 |
599 |
280 |
1,163 |
| Operating profit (loss)/EBIT |
(114) |
199 |
(1,155) |
215 |
| EBIT margin (%) before special items |
(3.2) |
5.7 |
(6.6) |
3.0 |
| Profit (loss) for the period |
(147) |
116 |
(1,031) |
135 |
| Free cash flow |
(644) |
385 |
(2,148) |
(539) |
The company’s quarterly intake of firm and unconditional wind turbine orders went down to 1,895 MW from 3,727 MW in the same period of 2021. Its value as at September 30, 2022, was EUR 18.1 billion compared to EUR 19.3 billion a year earlier. Including the value of service agreements, the combined backlog rose by EUR 3.6 billion to EUR 50.9 billion.
“The energy crisis incentivises a faster transition to an energy system built on renewables and ambitious political agreements such as the Inflation Reduction Act in USA strengthen the underlying demand for wind energy solutions, but project development and order intake remain impeded by energy market uncertainties and red tape,” Andersen noted.
(EUR 1 = USD 0.995)
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Image by Vestas Wind Systems @Vestas on Twitter.
