Danish wind turbine company Vestas Wind Systems AS (VWS.KO) is
well-positioned to take advantage of a return to more stable market conditions,
its chief executive said Wednesday, as measures it has taken to counter the
difficult business climate bear fruit.
Shares in the company soared 24% as it surprised the market by keeping its 2011
guidance and posted solid earnings.
"I feel we have already take quite some measures to try to counterbalance
some of this uncertainty we see in the world right now," Ditlev Engel told
Dow Jones Newswires.
Renewable energy is still much dependent on subsidies and as debt worries
occupy the mind of policy makers, support for green energy likely loses
priority. In anticipation of this, Vestas last year reduced its headcount--a
decision that has proved right, according to Engel.
The Danish company kept its full year outlook, saying it has already secured
orders to cover almost of all the expected EUR7 billion revenue it aims to
reach this year, and said it still expects an order intake for 2011 of between
7,000 and 8,000 megawatts.
"It's clear that, of course, the macroeconomic environment is an
uncertainty here. But looking at the projects Vestas are negotiating at the
moment and is involved in, there is good reason to believe we will reach the
goal," Engel said.
Vestas had an order intake of 2,895 megawatt for the first half of the year and
the order intake is usually larger in the second part of the year. Engel said
the expected 2011 order intake bodes well for 2012.
"The order intake has a lot to do with next year because we are basically
covered for 2011 with the orders we need to execute for this year. So the order
intake we talk about now is very much beyond 2011," Engel said.
The company posted a EUR55 million second quarter net profit, compared with a
EUR143 million loss a year ago. The 2010 earnings were affected by low order
intake in 2009 caused by the financial crisis.
"We are now back at a more normal activity level in the first half of
2011, compared to the first half of 2010 when it was very bad," Engel
said.
At 1010
GMT shares were up 24% at DKK110.10.