Nordex supplying 20 MW to Northern Ireland

The wind turbines will be built in County Tyrone. The average wind speed at the site is 8.5 m/s. Thanks to the N80/2500 strong-wind turbine, “Screggagh” will be able to supply around 10,500 households a year with clean electricity.

The wind farm marks the first project for DW Consultancy to go to construction in Northern Ireland. DW Consultancy are active wind farm developers in Northern Ireland, with four wind farm projects (totalling 50 MW) currently permitted full planning permission, and a further eight projects (totalling more than 100 MW) within the planning system. These additional projects present the prospect of possible follow-up contracts for Nordex, one of the top suppliers of turbines in the UK market.

Nordex breaking even in the first quarter

In the first three months of 2010, the Nordex Group (ISIN: DE000A0D6554) generated sales of EUR 150.5 million (previous year: EUR 233.3 million). The decline in business had been expected due to muted order intake in the previous three quarters largely as a result of a shortfall in the project finance provided by banks.

Order receipts came to EUR 71.1 million (previous year: EUR 234.3 million). However, new business picked up substantially at the beginning of the second quarter, with receipts of new firmly financed orders standing at EUR 94 million in April alone. At the same time, the company secured framework agreements for more than 300 megawatts.

Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) came to EUR 0.4 million, roughly on a par with the previous year (EUR 0.3 million). In this respect, reduced structural costs played a crucial role, contracting by around 9 percent over the previous year to EUR 46.6 million (previous year EUR 51.3 million). At the same time, the gross margin widened to 27.6 percent as of the balance-sheet date (previous year 21.1 percent). Net finance expense dropped to EUR 0.4 million (previous year: EUR 1.5 million). As a result, the Group broke even (previous year: EUR 0.4 million).

The equity ratio stabilized at around 41 percent. As of the balance sheet date, consolidated liquidity stood at EUR 151.6 million (December 31, 2009: EUR 159.9 million). The working capital ratio contracted slightly to 17.2 percent (December 31, 2009: 18.4 percent), while the net cash inflow from operating activities rose to EUR 1.2 million (previous year net cash outflow of EUR 61.7 million).

Order books as of April 30 are valued at around EUR 2.3 billion, which was the first increase of total order backlog since the end of 2008, thanks to the stronger order intake as of the beginning of the second quarter. Of this, firmly financed contracts account for around EUR 500 million. A slight increase in full-year sales for 2010 is possible thanks to the proportionate execution of these contracts and the expected growth in new business in the second half of 2010. On this basis, Nordex assumes that the profitability of its operating business will improve over the previous year.

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