Nordex’ sales in the first quarter of 2020 increased to € 964.6 million (Q1/2019: € 398.9 million). Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose to € 13.1 million (Q1/2019: € 3.3 million), showing an EBITDA margin of 1.4 percent (Q1/2019: 0.8 percent). The increase in sales is mainly attributable to the rise in installation numbers in the projects segment.
In the first quarter of 2020, the Nordex Group installed a total of 269 wind turbines (Q1/2019: 84) in 21 countries with a combined output of 899.2 MW (Q1/2019: 260.9 MW). Europe accounted for 60 percent of the installed capacity, Latin America for 15 percent, North America for 13 and the rest of the world for 12 percent. As a result, sales for the projects segment climbed to € 862.6 million in the reporting period (Q1/2019: € 312.3 million). Sales in the service segment also continued to grow, rising by 16.7 percent from € 87.4 million to € 102.0 million.
Turbine assembly rose from 698 MW in the prior-year quarter to 1,641 MW in the first three months of 2020. The number of rotor blades produced by the company was up marginally on the prior-year figure, rising to 321 from 300 units in the same quarter of the previous year.
In the first three months of 2020, the Nordex Group increased its order intake in the projects segment (i.e. excluding services) to 1,643.9MW (Q1/19: 1,035.1 MW); this corresponds to a value of € 1,184.6 million (Q1/19: € 810.2 million). At 1,292 MW, the order volume in Europe was nearly 79 percent overall. Latin America accounted for 352 MW or 21 percent. At the end of the first quarter of 2020, the Nordex Group’s order book in the projects segment had a value of € 5.8 billion (31 March 2019: € 4.4 billion), while its order book in the service segment had a value of € 2.6 billion (31 March 2019: € 2.2 billion).
Given the continued uncertainty about how long the interruptions due to COVID-19 will last and the current difficulty in estimating any further consequences for the supply chain, production and completion of projects (installations), it is no longer possible to give a reliable and realistic assessment of Nordex SE’s future business performance. For this reason, the Management Board of Nordex SE decided to withdraw its guidance for financial year 2020.
