For full-year 2016, revenue amounted to EUR 10.2bn, EBIT margin before special items was 13.9 percent, total net investments* were EUR 617m, and the free cash flow* amounted to EUR 1,564m – in line with the expectations to revenue of EUR 10.0bn-10.5bn, EBIT margin before special items of 13-14 percent, total net investments* of approx EUR 600m, and free cash flow* of EUR 1,500m-1,600m. The activity level and earnings of the period were driven by the stable execution of strong order books for wind turbines and service, both of which continued to grow during the year as a result of solid execution and a favourable market environment.
The wind turbine order intake increased from 8,943 MW in 2015 to 10,494 MW in 2016 and the value of the service order backlog increased by EUR 1.8bn to EUR 10.7bn.
For 2017, Vestas expects revenue to range between EUR 9.25bn and 10.25bn including service revenue, which is expected to grow. Vestas expects to achieve an EBIT margin before special items of 12-14 percent with the service EBIT margin remaining stable.
Total investments** are expected to amount to approx EUR 350m, and the free cash flow** is expected to be minimum EUR 700m in 2017.
As a result of the strong performance during the year, the Board of Directors recommends to the Annual General Meeting that a dividend of DKK 9.71 per share, compared to DKK 6.82 last year, and equivalent to 30 percent of the net profit for the year, be distributed to the shareholders.
The expected net proceeds from the sale of the office buildings announced yesterday will be distributed to shareholders through a DKK 705m (approx EUR 95m) share buy-back programme to be initiated today.
“I am extremely pleased with Vestas’ 2016 performance, delivering a record year on revenue, EBIT margin, net profit, free cash flow, order intake, and combined order backlog. Deliveries are up more than 29 percent year-on-year, while costs remained tightly under control. All regions contributed to the strong results, demonstrating once again the power of Vestas’ global reach” says Anders Runevad, Group President & CEO.
*) Before investments in marketable securities and short-term financial investments.
**) Before investments in marketable securities and short-term financial investments, and incl. expected proceeds from sale of office buildings.
Information meeting (audiocast)
On Wednesday, 8 February 2017 at 10 a.m. CET (9 a.m. GMT), Vestas will host an information meeting via an audiocast. The audiocast will be accessible via vestas.com/investor.
The meeting will be held in English and questions may be asked through a conference call. The telephone numbers for the conference call are:
Europe: +44 203 008 9814
USA: +1 646 502 5118
Denmark: +45 3544 5576
Further details at vestas.com/en/investor.
The Board of Directors of Vestas Wind Systems A/S has decided to initiate a share buy-back programme of up to DKK 705 million (approximately EUR 95 million) to be executed during the period 8 February 2017 to 4 May 2017.
The share buy-back programme is initiated pursuant to the authorisation granted to the Board of Directors by the Annual General Meeting on 30 March 2016, which authorises Vestas to acquire treasury shares at a nominal value not exceeding 10 percent of the share capital at the time of the authorisation. The consideration for such shares may not deviate by more than 10 percent from the closing price quoted by Nasdaq Copenhagen at the time of purchase.
The share buy-back will be structured in accordance with Article 5 of Regulation No 596/2014 of the European Parliament and Council of 16 April 2014 (MAR) (the “Safe Harbour” rules).
Purpose
The purpose of the share buy-back programme is to adjust Vestas’ capital structure and to meet obligations arising from share-based incentive programmes to employees of Vestas.
At Vestas’ annual general meeting in 2018, a resolution will be proposed that shares acquired, which are not used for hedging purposes of share based incentive programmes, will be cancelled.
Time frame
The share buy-back programme will run from 8 February 2017 to 4 May 2017.
Terms
Vestas has appointed Nordea as lead manager for the share buy-back programme. Nordea will make its own trading decisions independently of and without influence or involvement from Vestas.
Under the share buy-back programme Vestas may repurchase shares up to a maximum amount of DKK 705 million, and no more than 14,383,584 shares, corresponding to 6.5 percent of the share capital of Vestas Wind Systems A/S.
No shares may be bought back at a price exceeding the higher of i) the price of the last independent trade and ii) the highest current independent bid at the trading venue, on which the purchase is carried out, at the time of trading.
The maximum number of shares that may be purchased on each trading day may not exceed 25 percent of the average daily trading volume of shares on the trading venue, on which the purchase is carried out, over the last 20 trading days prior to the date of purchase.
