The chief financial officer for Vestas Wind Systems has stepped down after nine months on the job, dealing the troubled Danish wind-turbine maker another blow as it works to reverse a string of deep losses and build relationships with investors.
The chief financial officer for Vestas Wind Systems has stepped down
after nine months on the job, dealing the troubled Danish wind-turbine maker
another blow as it works to reverse a string of deep losses and build
relationships with investors.
Dag Gunnar Andresen, who became CFO last summer following the abrupt departure
of his predecessor, will leave Vestas at the end of the month. He will be
replaced by Marika Fredriksson, a Swede with an extensive financial background
who is an outsider to the renewable-energy industry.
Mr. Andresen cited personal reasons for his departure. He leaves as the wider
industry for wind turbines remains under pressure because of rising competition
from companies in emerging markets and a lack of wind-energy subsidies.
For Vestas, the latest management move represents another turn in the
turbulence engulfing Vestas' upper ranks. Early in 2012, the then-chairman and
his deputy stepped down following the firing of Henrik Norremark, who had been
the finance chief and chief operating officer under Chief Executive Ditlev
Engel.
The company let Mr. Norremark go after two profit warnings sent share prices
tumbling.
Mr. Andresen later joined the company and helped oversee a restructuring plan,
bolster relations with banks and other investors and shore up the balance sheet
in the second half of 2012.
Shares fell 2.2% during trading Monday. The CFO's departure was announced
before the market opened.
Shares have recovered since touching historic lows last year, but they are still
90% lower than the highs set when the company was winning new business and a
darling of the renewable-energy sector in 2008. The recovery can, in part, be
credited to Mr. Andresen.
"There is no doubt that Dag Andresen has been one of the driving forces
behind the turnaround," Klaus Kehl, analyst at Danish financial services
group Nykredit, said Monday. "He was also good [at] communicating."
Vestas has recently been shedding jobs and moving away from unprofitable
business lines, but there remains uncertainty over whether it will be able to
seal the strategic pact with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. that has been
under discussion since August. Investors applauded the potential tie-up when it
was announced, sending shares significantly higher amid optimism that a deal
could secure Vestas' long-term future.
Ms. Fredriksson takes the finance job May 1 and will be confronted with the
challenge of keeping the company viable. Vestas posted a net loss of 963
million euros ($1.26 billion) in 2012, and free cash flow was negative EUR359
million.
Management has in recent weeks indicated that its difficulties are subsiding. Last
month, at the annual meeting, Chairman Bert Nordberg said "Vestas is a
stronger, more realistic and cautious company than it was one year ago,"
with lower fixed costs.
Ms. Fredriksson previously served as chief financial officer for
medical-technology company Gambro, automotive-safety systems manufacturer
Autoliv Inc. and construction-equipment manufacturer Volvo AB. Michael Jorgensen,
an analyst at Danish financial insurance group Alm Brand, said that her profile
makes her a good fit for the company but she will have to build up trust with
investors.
She "has to take over in the middle of a restructuring phase without
having time to get to know the company under calm circumstances," Mr.
Jorgensen said, adding that this may "delay" Vestas' attempt to
attract new capital.
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