HAMBURG (dpa-AFX) - The wind turbine manufacturer Nordex has significantly improved its results in the first quarter and is operating in the black. The competitor of Vestas and Siemens Energy subsidiary Gamesa performed better than expected. Nordex benefited from the completion of more profitable projects than in the previous year. Many wind turbine manufacturers are currently still busy working off unprofitable orders due to inflation. The management headed by CEO José Luis Blanco confirmed the annual forecast and the medium-term targets.

The MDax-listed share received a boost from the figures and climbed by up to almost nine percent to EUR 15.77 in the first hour of trading, thus reaching a two-year high. The share was not quite able to maintain this level - most recently the share price rose by six percent to 15.42 euros. With the price increase following the figures, the share continued its recent good run. Since the end of 2023, Borsen's value has risen by around half to 3.6 billion euros.

In an initial reaction, analyst Ajay Patel from Goldman Sachs praised the Hamburg-based company's "enormously strong" start to the year. In the first quarter, Nordex's operating margin was already above the mid-point of its target range for the year. Constantin Hesse from analysts Jefferies was also impressed. He noted that the wind turbine manufacturer had exceeded average estimates across the board with its key figures. The cash inflow was weak. However, this should turn around as the year progresses. Bankhaus Metzler believes that Nordex has probably bottomed out.

Nordex increased sales in the first quarter by 29 percent to around EUR 1.6 billion, as the wind turbine manufacturer announced in Hamburg. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) jumped to EUR 52.1 million, exceeding analysts' expectations. In the previous year, the company had posted a loss of just under EUR 115 million. At the bottom line, Nordex posted a loss of around EUR 13 million, considerably less than in the previous year, when it posted a loss of EUR 214.8 million.

"We have implemented projects with higher profitability and found a stable cost environment, which means that we have significantly improved our profitability compared to the previous year," commented José Luis Blanco on the figures. "After several years of strong fluctuations, we now expect a more stable earnings and margin trend over the course of the year." Despite a brightening market environment, Nordex continues to face short-term headwinds.

The industry is facing higher costs as a result of inflation. This has made many older projects unprofitable. In addition, some wind farm developers are struggling with sluggish approval procedures, high interest rates and increased costs.

In the first quarter, Nordex erected fewer wind turbines than in the previous year. The execution rate was slightly below plan, the company reported, but expects an improvement in the coming quarters. In terms of both order intake and installations, Nordex reportedly succeeded in taking market share from its competitors for land turbines worldwide (excluding China). Vestas and Siemens Gamesa, for example, received significantly fewer orders in the first three months of the year than in the previous year, with Gamesa currently not selling its most important land turbines 4.X and 5.X due to quality defects.

As already announced, Nordex almost doubled its new turbine business to just under EUR 1.8 billion. The average price per megawatt was slightly lower than in the same quarter of the previous year, but slightly higher than in 2023 and the fourth quarter. Nordex named South Africa, Germany, Lithuania and Turkey as the largest individual markets. As a result, Nordex has a total order backlog of more than EUR 11 billion at the end of March, with EUR 7.3 billion attributable to the turbine business and the remainder to the service business.

Nordex confirmed its forecast. Sales are expected to reach EUR 7.0 to 7.5 billion in the current year. The company sees the EBITDA margin at 2.0 to 4.0 percent. In the first quarter, Nordex achieved 3.3 percent. In the medium term, the wind turbine manufacturer aims to improve the margin to 8 percent./nas/ngu/zb