Wind group Nordex keeps guidance as loss narrows amid strong sales

Nordex posted a much smaller net loss in the second quarter of 2021 than a year before, amid a strong increase in sales, helping the wind turbine manufacturer to maintain its full-year guidance.

Sales jumped to €1.45bn ($1.70bn) in the second quarter of 2021, up from €1.08bn a year earlier, while the OEM’s had earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) of €58m, compared to a negative Ebitda of €84m a year earlier.

The manufacturer had a net loss of €9m in the quarter, compared to a much more substantial net loss of €142m in the second quarter of 2020.

“Our business performance continued to gather momentum in the second quarter, with profitability in particular improving as expected compared to the first quarter,” chief executive Jose Luis Blanco said.

The company’s Ebitda margin, a common measure of a company’s profitability, in the second quarter reached 4.0%, compared to a negative Ebitda margin of 7.8% a year earlier.

Nordex said the Covid-19 pandemic had only a limited impact on its operating business, but said indirect effects were still evident.

“While the direct consequences of the pandemic continue to subside, due in part to the widespread vaccination of our workforce, the indirect impact of this crisis is still readily apparent from the disruption to the raw materials and logistics markets,” Blanco said. “Our task now is to manage this successfully.”

The OEM’s turbine order intake rose by 10% to a value of €2.78bn in the first half of 2021, with the largest single markets being Brazil, Finland, Germany and Spain. The company didn’t provide the order intake for the second quarter only.