Ørsted announced further writedowns in the US offshore wind business


Stay informed with free updates

The world’s largest offshore wind developer has announced new writedowns at its US business, in a blow to its efforts to move on from its problems in the country.

Ørsted announced impairments totaling DKK12.1bn (£1.36bn) on Monday night, blaming interest rates, supply chain challenges and “market uncertainty” for affecting the value of acquisitions. rent on the sea floor.

The announcement follows DKK28.4bn in impairments against the Danish company’s US portfolio in 2023, also blamed on rising interest rates and supply chain challenges, and is likely to raise more questions about its strategy in the country.

It came hours after Donald Trump was inaugurated as US President, who promised during his election campaign to stop offshore wind projects on “day one” of his presidency.

In a press release on Monday, the White House said that Trump’s energy policies “will end the leasing of many wind farms that damage our natural landscapes and fail to serve those American energy consumer”.

It added that Trump would withdraw the US from the Paris climate agreement, which was signed in 2015 as part of a global effort to combat climate change.

Mads Nipper, chief executive, said the handicaps were “very disappointing”, but the company remained “committed to the US market in the long term”.

He added: “We continue to navigate the complexities and uncertainties we face in a new offshore industry in the new US market.”

Mads Nipper, chief executive of Ørsted, said the company remains ‘committed to the US market for the long term’ © Charlie Bibby/FT

Ørsted entered the US in 2018 as a pioneer in the offshore wind industry, but struggled, along with many of its peers, when interest rates rose and supply chains suffered in the wake of the Covid pandemic.

In November 2023, it was said to have abandoned two projects off the coast of New Jersey, which alarmed shareholders with a DKK28.4bn write-down, which was higher than expected.

In an attempt to turn the business around, the company said in February it was suspending its dividend, cutting up to 800 jobs, and withdrawing from offshore wind markets in Norway, Spain and Portugal in an attempt to -focus on key areas.

In Monday’s announcement, Ørsted said the rise in long-term interest rates in the US pushed up the cost of capital, which accounted for DKK4.3bn of the DKK12.1bn total impairment.

It booked another DKK3.5bn due to “market uncertainty” affecting the value of several seabed leases, while the final DKK4.3bn covered delays at its Sunrise Wind offshore wind project on the coast of New York. This project is now due to be operational and running in the second half of 2027.

However, Ørsted said it would stick to its full-year operating profit guidance of DKK24.8bn for 2024. Its wind farms, both onshore and offshore, performed in line with expectations, it said. Revenues in 2023 amounted to DKK79.3bn.

The company’s shares have fallen nearly 20 percent in the past 12 months, and are roughly 77 percent below their peak in January 2021 on high interest in environmental stocks.



Source link

  • Related Posts

    Trump signs TikTok executive order delaying ban on app By Reuters

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order delaying a ban on the popular short-video app TikTok that was set to shut down on January…

    Fifth Third Bancorp Q4 2024 Earnings Preview

    Fifth Third Bancorp Q4 2024 Earnings Preview Source link

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *