Vestas Wind Systems A/S: Vestas - Interim Financial Report, Third Quarter 2024

Vestas Wind Systems A/S, Aarhus, 05 November 2024
Company Announcement no. 16/2024

Summary: Quarterly revenue of EUR 5.2bn with an EBIT margin before special items of 4.5 percent. Order intake of 4.4 GW and combined order backlog of EUR 63.4bn. Revenue and EBIT margin guidance maintained with adjustments to Service EBIT and total investments. Lower end of the guidance range now more likely for the Group EBIT margin.

In the third quarter of 2024, Vestas generated revenue of EUR 5,177m - an increase of 18.9 percent compared to the year-earlier period. EBIT before special items amounted to EUR 235m, resulting in an EBIT margin before special items of 4.5 percent, compared to 1.6 percent in the third quarter of 2023.

Adjusted free cash flow amounted to EUR (224)m compared to EUR (284)m in the third quarter of 2023. The quarterly intake of firm and unconditional wind turbine orders amounted to 4,432 MW, a 2 percent decrease from third quarter 2023. The value of the wind turbine order backlog was EUR 28.3bn as at 30 September 2024.

In addition to the wind turbine order backlog, at the end of the quarter, Vestas had service agreements with expected contractual future revenue of EUR 35.1bn. Thus, the value of the combined backlog of wind turbine orders and service agreements stood at EUR 63.4bn - an increase of EUR 9.4bn compared to the year-earlier period.

The full-year guidance on revenue and EBIT margin before special items is maintained:  Revenue is expected to range between EUR 16.5bn and 17.5bn. We expect to achieve an EBIT margin before special items for the Group of 4-5 percent, however now more likely in the lower end of the range. The outlook for total investments[1 ]has been adjusted to approx. EUR 1.0bn (previously approx. EUR 1.2bn). Furthermore, we now expect the Service EBIT before special items to amount to around EUR 450m (previously around EUR 500m).

Group President & CEO Henrik Andersen said: "Vestas achieved revenue of EUR 5.2bn and an EBIT margin of 4.5 percent in the third quarter of 2024, which compared to the same quarter last year represent a 19 percent increase in revenue and an improvement of 3 percentage points in profitability. In the quarter, we received 4.4 GW of orders with an average selling price of EUR 1.10m/MW that elevates our turbine order backlog to an all-time-high of EUR 28bn, underlining our continued strong commercial discipline. Higher activity and higher pricing on deliveries continue to drive significant progress in our underlying business and especially Power Solutions, but the quarter was negatively impacted by a slightly slower-than-expected margin improvement in Service and elevated warranty provisions in the quarter. We maintain our guidance on revenue and EBIT for the year but adjust Service EBIT and total investments. We continue to execute on our strategy and are focused on ending the year strongly. We operate in an environment impacted by geopolitical uncertainty and trade volatility, and we want to thank our partners, customers and more than 33,000 colleagues for their continued support and hard work."

Key highlights

Revenue of EUR 5.2bn
Revenue increased 19 percent YoY, driven by higher volumes and higher pricing on deliveries.

EBIT margin of 4.5 percent
Higher activity and better underlying performance improved the EBIT margin by almost 3 percentage points YoY.

Service EBIT margin of 16 percent
The Service profitability reflects ongoing scrutiny to improve operational efficiency.

Order intake of 4.4 GW
Flat order intake YoY leads to all-time high turbine backlog of more than EUR 28bn.

Ramping up manufacturing in the USA and Europe
Onboarding colleagues and ramping up is always challenging, but we continue to make progress.

Outlook for 2024
Revenue and EBIT margin guidance maintained with adjustments to Service EBIT and total investments.[1]

[1] Net investments in intangible assets and property, plant and equipment
 

Conference call
On Tuesday 5 November 2024 at 10 am CET (9 am GMT), Vestas will host a conference call with a presentation on the results. The presentation will be audiocast and can be viewed live or replayed via vestas.com.

The presentation will be held in English and will conclude with a Q&A. Details on how to register for the Q&A are to be found at vestas.com/en/investor.

Contact details
Vestas Wind Systems A/S, Denmark

Investors/analysts:
Daniel Patterson,
Vice President, Investor Relations
Tel: +45 2669 2725

Frederik Holm Jacobsen
Senior Specialist, Investor Relations
Tel: +45 2835 3365

Media:
Anders Riis, Vice President
Communications
Tel: +45 4181 3922