Nordex Increases Sales in The First Quarter, Losses Widened, Share Price Rises
Hamburg, Germany - While competitor Vestas returned to profitability in the first quarter of 2023, turbine manufacturer Nordex continued to report a loss in the first three months of the year. Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, this figure has even risen further.
Sales up 30 percent - EBITDA and earnings weaker than in the same quarter last year
The Nordex Group today (12 May 2023) published its figures for the first quarter of 2023 (Q1 2023). Sales increased by 30.5 percent year-on-year to EUR 1.217 billion (Q1 2022: EUR 933 million). Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were minus 114.9 million euros in the first quarter, weaker than in the same period of the previous year (Q2 22: -88.9 million euros). The bottom line is a negative consolidated result of minus €214.8 million in Q1 2023, after a minus of €150.5 million in the same quarter of the previous year.
In the first quarter of 2023, Nordex installed a total of 276 wind turbines in 19 countries with a total capacity of 1,319 MW. In the same quarter of the previous year, there were 197 wind turbines in 12 countries with a total output of 867 MW. Of the installed capacity (in MW), 54 percent was in Europe, 25 percent in Latin America, 14 percent in North America and 7 percent in the rest of the world.
" Overall, the year began as expected and we increased our installation output in the first quarter. We are still focused on processing our order book efficiently, as the high costs associated with old projects are still adversely impacting our margins", comments Nordex CEO José Luis Blanco on the quarterly figures.
For the rest of the year, Blanco expects a gradual improvement in the earnings margin due to the revised pricing and contract arrangements. "Overall, we continue to see improving volumes in our key markets, on the back of positive political momentum," Blanco added.
Order book rises to a total volume of almost 10 billion euros
Order intake (excluding the service segment) increased slightly to €917 million in the first 3 months of 2023 (Q1 2022: €903 million) despite a decline in nominal output totalling 1,021 MW (Q1 2022: 1,165 MW). Eight European countries accounted for all of this order volume. The largest individual markets were Estonia, Germany and Lithuania. At the end of the quarter, the order backlog in the Projects segment increased to €6.5 billion (Q1 2022: €6.3 billion). In the Services segment, the order book increased by 12.0 per cent from EUR 3.0 billion to EUR 3.4 billion, resulting in a total order book for both segments of EUR 9.9 billion (Q1 2022: EUR 9.3 billion).
Share price can rise
Investors initially reacted with disappointment to the quarterly figures presented by Nordex, and the share price slipped into negative territory. In the course of the morning the trend turns around. The share price is currently up 5 percent at EUR 11.26 (12.05.2023, 2:45 p.m., Stuttgart Stock Exchange). On balance, Nordex stock is currently down by around 15 percent since the beginning of the year.
Source: IWR Online, May 05 2023