Nordex widens Q1 net loss as sales fall

Germany's Nordex SE (ETR:NDX1) saw its consolidated net loss swell to EUR 150.5 million (USD 158.28m) in the first quarter on the back of a sharp drop in sales but the 2022 outlook and medium-term targets were maintained.

The net loss nearly tripled in the first three months of the year from EUR 54.7 million a year earlier as sales declined while raw material and logistics costs rose, Nordex said on Tuesday.

The wind turbine manufacturer booked a loss before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of EUR 88.9 million compared with earnings of EUR 10.4 million. The negative result from the first quarter of 2022 includes costs of EUR 36.9 million for production restructuring.

At EUR 933 million, sales dropped 25.4% year-on-year. The company attributed the decline to a planned change in production to different blades and weather-related lower installation output.

A significant decrease was observed in the installation of new turbines. In the reporting period, Nordex erected 197 machines with a combined capacity of 867 MW compared with 381 turbines totalling 1,453 MW installed a year earlier.

Order intake, excluding the service segment, fell slightly by 0.8% to EUR 903 million corresponding to a total nominal output of 1,165 MW.

The manufacturer reiterated its 2022 forecast which was revised down in May to reflect the impact of the war in Ukraine and production restructuring combined with the effects of supply chain disruptions and costs related to the recent cyber attack.

In 2022, consolidated sales are expected to total between EUR 5.2 billion and EUR 5.7 billion and the operating (EBITDA) margin is seen in the range of minus 4% to 0%.

In the medium term, Nordex will be pursuing a group EBITDA margin of 8%.

The group's performance disappointed the stock market and shares in Nordex were trading 5.22% lower at EUR 8.86 at 1113 CET on Tuesday in Frankfurt.

(EUR 1 = USD 1.052)

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