The Nordex Group (ISIN: DE000A0D6554) today announced that it successfully maintained its growth trajectory in 2021, despite inflationary pressures and significant disruptions of the global supply chains in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Company increased its production to more than 6 GW, boosted installations by 20 percent and achieved sales of EUR 5.4 billion. However, its earnings before taxes, interest, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of EUR 52.7 million (2020: EUR 94.0 million) was adversely impacted by high costs for raw materials and shipping in particular, while the previous year was positively impacted by the sale of the European project development business.
Nordex Group meets revised 2021 guidance
The Nordex Group today published its annual financial statements for 2021 and has thus confirmed the preliminary results published on 9 March 2022. Consolidated sales rose considerably by 17 percent to EUR 5.4 billion (2020: EUR 4.7 billion). At 1.0 percent, the EBITDA margin reached the expected level but was below the previous year’s figure (2020: 2.0 percent). Due to the substantial rise in costs for raw materials and transport services, particularly at the end of the year, the Company was unable to improve its margins as originally planned in 2021. The working capital ratio as a percentage of consolidated sales was minus 10.2 percent at the end of 2021, well below the target level of less than minus 6 percent (2020: minus 6.3 percent). Capital expenditure rose to EUR 168.7 million (2020: EUR 162.9 million), just short of the expected figure of EUR 180 million.
At the 2021 reporting date, the Group’s equity ratio was 25.9 percent (31 December 2020: 17.5 percent). This significant improvement was primarily due to the capital increase in July 2021 and the repayment of borrowings. The Nordex Group’s liquidity increased slightly to EUR 784.4 million at the end of 2021 (31 December 2020: EUR 778.4 million). As a result of multiple financing measures including a EUR 586.1 million capital raise, the Nordex Group was able to achieve a net cash position of EUR 423.7 million (31 December 2020: net debt of EUR 40.9 million). Free cash flow amounted to EUR -24.5 million (2020: EUR -120.4 million).
Installations and service rise further
The Nordex Group markedly increased its installations in 2021, even though the COVID-19 pandemic caused repeated disruption to project development activities. As a result, the Company installed 1,619 wind turbines in 22 countries (2020: 1,533 in 24 countries) with a total output of 6.7 GW (2020: 5.5 GW). Sales in the Projects segment rose by 18.2 percent to EUR 4,987 million (2020: EUR 4,217 million), while sales in the Service segment grew by 6.9 percent to EUR 468 million (2020: EUR 438 million). This meant that the Service segment comprised 8.6 percent of total sales. At the end of the year under review, the Nordex Group serviced 9,765 wind turbines worldwide with a total output of 27 GW, most of them on long-term contracts. The order book in the Service segment increased by 7.7 percent to EUR 3.0 billion, while the order book in the Projects segment expanded considerably to EUR 6.2 billion.
The strong order book and a book-to-bill ratio of 1.14 (2020: 1.00) underpin the Group’s growth potential.
Product and production
In turbine production, the Nordex Group manufactured a total of 1,480 turbines with a total output of 6.7 GW (2020: 1,488 turbines with 5.8 GW). The Company expanded its portfolio during the year under review and launched the N163/6.X to successfully enter the 6 MW class and enhance the considerable competitive strength of its portfolio. In 2021, the Nordex Group continued the corporate program to improve profitability that it launched in the previous year.
Financing measures successfully completed
The Company successfully carried out a capital increase in July 2021 by issuing 42.7 million new shares. The transaction volume amounted to EUR 586.1 million and included gross proceeds of EUR 389.6 million as well as a contribution in kind of EUR 196.6 million from Acciona S.A., which was used to strengthen the balance sheet and repay borrowings. The revolving credit facility secured by the German federal government’s loan guarantee program with the participation of the states of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania and Hamburg amounting to EUR 350 million was canceled in full and ahead of schedule as a result. The research and development loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) originally totaling EUR 100 million was also repaid in full. At the same time, the Nordex Group reduced the EUR 242.4 million promissory note to EUR 25.9 million.
Guidance for 2022 and medium-term goal
The Nordex Group expects consolidated sales to reach EUR 5.4 to 6.0 billion in the current year, with sales likely to be relatively evenly distributed across the year. The EBITDA margin is expected to be within a range of 1.0 to 3.5 percent. This does not take into account any costs triggered by organizational reconfiguration and geopolitical events. Cost-pass through, further increasing share of projects using the Delta4000 platform and stability in the macro environment will be essential for achieving the Company’s margin improvement targets. The Management Board of the Nordex Group expects the market environment to remain challenging and for costs to remain under pressure, particularly as a result of the war in Ukraine.
The Nordex Group is aiming for a working capital ratio in relation to consolidated sales of below minus seven percent by the end of 2022. Capital expenditures – particularly in optimizing the supply chain, expanding global production, and product development – are estimated to reach EUR 180 million.
The Nordex Group is on the right track and today confirms its strategic goal of achieving an EBITDA margin of 8 percent in the medium term.
“Our order book of more than EUR 9 billion and high installation figures underline the attractiveness of our product portfolio and our execution capabilities amid challenging conditions. As a result, we are well positioned to take advantage of sustained momentum in the global wind energy market in the medium-term. However, in the short-term we face significant challenges due to the persistent pressure on costs. The war in Ukraine and the as-yet-unforeseeable indirect global consequences of this conflict are creating additional uncertainty. Nevertheless, we are confident that we will be able to steadily increase our margins and profitability,” said José Luis Blanco, CEO of the Nordex Group.
2021 Sustainability Report published
Together with the Annual Report, the Nordex Group is today publishing its sixth Sustainability Report, which has once again been reviewed by the auditing firm PwC. This report explains the latest developments, activities and key figures in the field of sustainability and also contains the consolidated non-financial report. The Nordex Group also presents its new sustainability strategy.
The Annual Report and the Sustainability Report are now available for download from the Investor Relations section of the company’s website under “Publications” (ir.nordex-online.com). The Nordex Group will announce its results for the first quarter of 2022 on 12 May 2022.
Nordex Group key financials
| (in EUR million) | 2021 | 2020 | Change (%) |
| Sales | 5,444.0 | 4,650.7 | 17.1 |
| thereof Service segment | 468.0 | 437.6 | 6.9 |
| EBITDA | 52.7 | 94.0 | -43.9 |
| EBITDA margin | 1.0% | 2.0% | -1.0 PP |
| EBIT margin (adjusted for PPA) | -1.8% | -0.8% | -1.0 PP |
| Consolidated net profit/loss | -230.2 | -129.7 | – |
| Capital expenditure | 168.7 | 162.9 | 3.6 |
| Free cash flow | -24.5 | -120.4 | – |
| Working capital ratio (31.12.) | -10.2% | -6.3% | -3.9 PP |
| Liquidity (31.12.) | 784.4 | 778.4 | 0.8 |
| Net liquidity (31.12.) | 423.7 | -40.9 | – |
| Equity ratio (31.12.) | 25.9% | 17.5% | 8.4 PP |
| Order intake (Projects) | 5,680.8 | 4,218.1 | 34.7 |
| Order intake (Service) | 624.7 | 607.6 | 2.8 |
| Order book (Projects) | 6,177.9 | 5,137.5 | 20.3 |
| Order book (Service) | 3,037.3 | 2,819.3 | 7.7 |
