Danish energy company Ørsted A/S (CPH:ORSTED) today reported a 12% higher net profit for the first half of 2018, at DKK 4.93 billion (USD 767.2m/EUR 661.4m).
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were up by 11% to DKK 8.6 billion, mainly as a result of higher offshore wind power generation. The company said the newly commissioned 573-MW Race Bank and 659-MW Walney Extension wind farms contributed to a 32% jump in EBITDA from its sites.
In the six months, the output of offshore wind farms was 4.8 TWh, up by 23% year-on-year, thanks to capacity additions. This increase, however, was in part offset by lower wind speeds in Denmark and the UK.
The share of green power in Ørsted’s generation grew to 71% from 59% in the first half of 2017.
Return on capital employed (ROCE) for the last 12 months was up from 18% in the first half of 2017 to 23% in the first half of 2018.
The company’s results for the first-half and the second-quarter of 2018 are in the table.
| All in DKK million |
H1 2018 |
H1 2017 |
Q2 2018 |
Q2 2017 |
| Revenue |
38,401 |
32,037 |
18,593 |
15,540 |
| EDITDA |
8,598 |
7,730 |
3,079 |
4,442 |
| - of which wind |
7,046 |
6,330 |
3,090 |
4,191 |
| EBIT |
5,754 |
4,893 |
1,617 |
2,901 |
| Pre-tax profit |
4,931 |
4,416 |
1,101 |
2,812 |
| Profit for the period |
3,897 |
7,630 |
857 |
4,990 |
Ørsted said the second-quarter operating profit was down by 31% because the prior-year period included a deferred gain of DKK 1.4 billion regarding the 2016 Race Bank farm-down, and also because earnings decreased in the Markets business.
FORECAST
The company now expects full-year EBITDA, excluding new partnerships, to move towards the upper end of the previously announced guidance range of DKK 12.5 billion-13.5 billion. Ørsted said it is likely it would divest 50% in the Hornsea 1 offshore wind farm in the second half of 2018, which would result in EBITDA, including new partnerships, significantly higher than the DKK 22.5 billion recorded in 2017.
OFFSHORE WIND GROWTH
The company said that if it takes final investment decision on all offshore wind projects secured in recent months in Taiwan and Germany, its total capacity, either installed or under construction and in development, would hit 11.9 GW by 2025. It is also continuing developing the Ocean Wind project off the coast of Atlantic City, New Jersey, and is preparing the Bay State Wind project for the next auctions in New England and New York with its partner Eversource.
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