PNE Wind turns to Q1 operating loss

German wind farms developer PNE Wind AG (ETR:PNE3) turned to an operating loss of EUR 191,000 (USD 226,190) in the first quarter of 2018 but reiterated its positive EBIT forecast for the full year.

In the year-ago period, the company reported an operating profit, or earnings before interest and tax (EBIT), of EUR 333,000. In spite of the first-quarter negative result, it said in a statement of Wednesday that the reporting period was “operationally and strategically successful.”

Net loss for the January-March quarter expanded to EUR 2.97 million from EUR 1.99 million a year back. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) arrived at EUR 2.13 million, up from EUR 1.7 million.

PNE Wind’s sales contracted to EUR 10.94 million from EUR 20.42 million, with total aggregate output falling to EUR 15.7 million from EUR 24.6 million.

PNE noted it has made operational progress in its projects, both on the domestic and international markets, and managed to lower its liabilities and long-term interest charges in the three months. CEO Markus Lesser commented that the clean energy solution provider seeks to extend its expertise to other international markets in the future.

For 2018, PNE Wind confirmed its forecast for EBIT of between EUR 10 million and EUR 16 million and EBITDA of EUR 20 million-26 million.

The German company plans to build up an European wind farm portfolio of around 200 MW by 2020. At the end of March, it had around 51 MW of wind power capacity under construction in France and Germany.

(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.184)

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