Nordex losses widen before 'busy H2'

Nordex posted a net loss of €55.4 million for the six months to the end of the June 2019, up from a net loss of €40.3 million a year earlier.

by Craig Richard 14 August 2019

Nordex's net debt stood at €204.1 million at the end of the first half of 2019 – more than a five-fold increase from one year ago

The higher losses was due to the manufacturer spending more on personnel costs and "other operating expenses" during H1 2019 than it did a year ago, as it prepared for a busier second half of the year.

Meanwhile, the company’s net debt stood at €204.1 million at the end of the first half of 2019 — more than a five-fold increase from a year ago — while its equity and total liabilities rose 22% to €3.7 billion.

Nordex said the increase in liabilities was also due to preparations for strong installations in the second half of 2019.

Nordex’s earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) of €17.1 million was down 55% on H1 2018, the company stated, but "in line" with expectations.

The company ramped up turbine and blade production in anticipation of a busier second half of the year.

Nordex assembled turbines with a combined capacity of more than 1.7GW, up 52% year on year, and produced 659 blades, up 48%, between 1 January and 30 June.

It said "production output will continue to rise in the second half of 2019".

Nordex invested €47.1 million in property, plants and equipment in the first half of the year, more than double its outlay in the same period a year ago.

The German manufacturer also announced a new variant for its 5.X platform with a 163-metre rotor. 

The manufacturer’s sales increased 3.5% to €990.8 million in the first half of the year. It added that its higher total revenues "signal increasing sales in the second half of 2019".

Nordex received orders of 3,038.4MW in H1, up 44%, and worth €2,111.8 million.

Europe and North America each accounted for 37% of this total, Latin America 21% and Australia 5%, the manufacturer stated.

By the end of the period, Nordex’s project order book was worth €5.3 billion, up from €3.2 billion one year ago, and its service orders were worth €2.3 billion, up from €2 billion a year earlier.

José Luis Blanco, the Nordex Group’s CEO, said: "We are fully prepared for significantly higher activity levels in the second half of the year and confirm our guidance for 2019.

"The transformation of our supply chain is also making progress.

"As already indicated, we will make additional investments in blade production to enable us to meet the higher than originally anticipated demand for the Delta4000 series and to support profitable growth in 2020 and beyond."