Siemens Gamesa (SG) kicks off this year in profit by earning 11 million net (red numbers of 174 million in the same period of 2020, when it closed with a total loss of 918 million).
Net operating profit (Ebit) also had a positive record. Of 14 million against a loss of 229 million in the previous stage.
In its first accounting quarter, from October to December, net debt reached 476 million. It has a funding of 4.4 billion, of which it has only 1.3 billion. The renewable corporation has a portfolio of orders of 30.1 billion, which has grown by 7% at the beginning of this year due to investments for the energy transition worldwide.
Andreas Nauen, CEO of SG, insisted on his strategy of “prioritizing profitability over volume”. An approach that has led to the closure of four factories in Spain. In a meeting with analysts, the manager added that “we are not done yet” with the “simplification” of the onshore wind division.
Beatriz Pont, financial director of the corporation, commented that the costs of restructuring will increase in the coming quarters, in which the compensations for the 266 dismissals for the closure of the plants of As Somozas (Lugo) and Cuenca will be counted. Funding for the adjustments will continue in 2022 and 2023, according to Pont.
SG has also lowered the shutter at a factory in India. Instead, it is building a gondola and shovel plant in the French port of Le Havre to respond to orders for offshore wind power on the French market. Nauen is happy with the productivity of Vagos center (Portugal), which has assembled more than a hundred shovels in eight months. The empowerment of vagabonds has led to the liquidation of the facilities of As Somozas.
Offshore wind will be key to soaring sales figures, given the scale of these projects. It has 9.3 GW in its portfolio and participates in auctions with 25 GW in bidding. The group expects the entry of new orders in the coming quarters, after a period of sluggishness. In fact, no orders for wind turbines came in from October to December on the coast.
pandemic
In land wind, the smaller contribution of the Chinese market and the weakness of the Indian market take its toll. The pandemic has slowed the pace of work in this division, especially in the start-up at facilities in the United States. Since SG are confident of an improvement in the situation in the coming quarters “and as vaccination campaigns are extended.” The impact of Covid-19 on its activity from October to December has been less than that suffered during 2020.
The 67% Siemens Energy subsidiary had advanced some first-quarter data this week. Among them, the net operating result before restructuring costs (Ebit pre PPA), with a profit of 121 million, compared to a loss of 136 million in the same period of the previous year.
These figures show a sales margin of 5.3%. This section does not cover the costs of the adjustments, such as compensation for the 266 redundancies due to the recent announcement of the closure of the Conca and As Somozas (Lugo) factories. Before, SG had already closed in Spain the centers of Aoiz (Navarra) and Miranda d’Ebre (Burgos).
Revenue at the start of SG’s accounting years grew to double digits, up 15%, reaching 2.3 billion. This increase in sales is explained by offshore wind projects started years ago and now billed. The devaluation of some currencies play against the turnover of a group that conducts operations on almost every continent.
Orders that entered the quarter reached 2.3 billion. A reduction in half because in this case the cycles of the offshore wind business, in the long run, did not fit in the accounting closing dates of the first quarter.
Yes, land turbine contracts and the maintenance services division added business, which is also the one that leaves the most margin in this sector.
Siemens Gamesa has confirmed its forecasts for this year. Its sales will be between 10,200 and 11,200 million. The Ebit pre PPA margin will be in a band between 3% and 5%.