Spain-based wind turbine maker Siemens Gamesa recorded a profit loss before special items of EUR 374 million (USD 402.8m) in the second quarter through March, widening it from negative EUR 301 million in the year-ago period, and continued to eat into the profitability of its German parent group Siemens Energy AG (ETR:ENR).
Another red-tinted trimester came after Siemens Gamesa reported an EUR-884-million net loss in the quarter through December 2022 on extraordinarily high maintenance costs due to an unspecified components failure at the installed turbine fleet.
No such shocks popped up in the second-quarter earnings report, presented this week by Siemens Energy, which holds close to 98% of Siemens Gamesa’s share capital.
The turbine maker booked orders totalling EUR 3.64 billion, up by over 200% year-on-year, thanks mainly to higher volume of large orders. The sum includes one EUR-1.7-billion offshore turbine order in the UK. Revenues rose by 13.6% year-on-year to EUR 2.44 billion, driven by growth of all business lines, Siemens Energy said.
Profit before special items collapsed under the weight of inflation, challenges related to the supply chain and the ramp-up of offshore activities and effects from onerous projects, the German group said.
Profit margin before special items was negative 15.4%, compared to negative 13.8% in the same period a year prior.
Siemens Energy expects its wind turbine segment to boost revenues by 6% to 10% on the year for the fiscal year 2023 and push the profit margin before special items towards negative 11%, the company said.
Siemens Energy had an otherwise solid quarter. Total orders surged by 56.3% to EUR 12.3 billion, with revenues totalling EUR 8.0 billion, up 23.8%.
The group’s profit before special items arrived at EUR 41 million compared to a EUR-49-million loss a year back, as its other business segments offset Siemens Gamesa’s loss.
Siemens Gamesa’s unfavourable results in the year so far have also affected the group’s outlook for profit margin before special items. Siemens Energy said that it expects the margin to sink to the low end of the guidance range of 1% to 3% because of the wind turbine business.
(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.077)
