Nordex SE (NRDXF.PK) on Monday reported an 84 percent climb in first-quarter order intake and said it will focus on its profitable core business. The German wind turbine manufacturer, which slipped to a loss in fiscal 2011 due to project delays, lower prices and higher expenses, said it expects a 10 to 20 percent increase in sales and a return to profitability in fiscal 2012, citing the solid order intake.
Confirming its fiscal 2011 preliminary results, the company said its full-year consolidated net loss was 49.5 million euros or 0.67 euros per share, compared to prior year's profit of 21.2 million euros or 0.31 euros per share. Sales fell 5.27 percent to 920.8 million euros due to project postponements in Europe and the relatively muted order backlog at the beginning of 2011.
According to the company, its annual loss reflected lower market prices for wind turbines and reduced capacity utilization together with higher structural costs.
Order intake, however, climbed 32.42 percent to 1.11 billion euros. Nordex said it was able to defy market trends, particularly in Europe, recording over 50 percent n increase in new business in this region. Order intake in China plunged 80 percent in the course of the year, causing a 44 percent drop in sales in Asia, while US sales doubled.
The order book amounted to around 700 million euros at the end of 2011, higher than last year's 411 million euros, thus providing a solid basis for the sales growth planned for this year, the company said. During the first quarter of fiscal 2012, order intake rose to 284 million euros from 154 million euros a year ago.
Looking ahead, Nordex projects fiscal 2012 sales will grow to 1 billion to 1.1 billion euros and EBIT margin would be 1 to 3 percent depending on sales volume and the development of turbine prices.
In the medium term, Nordex wants to improve further its profitability, materially helped by the accelerated development of onshore turbines for different wind classes and attractive market segments.
Nordex also said it plans to address the ongoing price pressure in the market by lowering its product costs and developing more efficient turbines.
Further, Nordex said it is continuing negotiations with its potential partner for combining its offshore activities in a joint venture. The talks have been ongoing since summer 2011.
Nordex shares are currently trading at 4.56 euros, up 0.03 euros or 0.57 percent on Frankfurt's Xetra.
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by RTT Staff Writer
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