Nordex losses narrow as wind turbine group builds on swelling order book

German wind turbine manufacturer Nordex delivered a promised improvement in sales and operating profits in a first quarter earnings report that also confirmed surging orders.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda) amounted to €52m ($56m), compared with a loss of €115m in the corresponding quarter of 2023.

Nordex did not manage to return to a consolidated net profit in the first quarter but narrowed the loss to €13m. In the first quarter of 2023 the company made a net loss of €215m.

The Nordex group generated overall sales of €1.57bn in the quarter, representing growth of 29% from the same period of 2023, but the company stressed that its Ebitda margin had also swung to 3.3% after hitting minus 9.4% in the first quarter of last year.

Nordex reported revenue improvements in both its sales and servicing segments: sales in the Projects segment rose by 32% on the year to hit €1.4bn, and the Service segment made €166m, about 9% higher on the year.

The company's quarterly intake of new sales orders surged 94% to nearly €1.8bn, representing a doubling of nominal output 2GW.

The order volume was attributed to eleven countries, with Germany, South Africa and Lithuania as the largest individual markets.

The order book in the same Projects segment totalled €7.3bn by the end of the quarter, up from €6.5bn at the same point in 2023.

The order book in the Service segment increased by 14%, on the year to reach €3.8bn.

"Overall, we have made a strong start on our path towards improving our margins and achieving more stable results," said José Luis Blanco, CEO of the Nordex Group.

"We have executed projects with higher profitability and found a stable cost environment, meaning that we have significantly improved our performance compared to the previous year. After several years of high volatility and fluctuations, we now expect a more stable earnings and margin trend over the course of the year.”