The Nordex Group (ISIN: DE000A0D6554) today confirmed its preliminary figures announced on 8 November 2021. The Company increased its consolidated sales by 24.9 percent year-on-year to almost EUR 4.0 billion in the first nine months of 2021 (9M 2020: EUR 3.2 billion). This sales growth is mainly attributable to the significant increase in installation figures and the expanded production output in the Projects segment. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose to EUR 100.7 million (9M/2020: EUR 70.8 million), resulting in an EBITDA margin of 2.5 percent (9M/2020: 2.2 percent). However, the financial performance was significantly impacted by the sharp rise in commodity and shipping costs.
As a result, the Company also revised its guidance for 2021 when it presented its preliminary figures. The Nordex Group now expects to post consolidated sales of between EUR 5.0 and 5.2 billion and an EBITDA margin of around 1 percent in 2021 due to a highly volatile macro environment, which is dominated by substantial increases in external costs for raw materials and shipping as well as temporary supply chain disruptions. Capital expenditure is expected to remain flat at approximately EUR 180 million, while the working capital ratio as a percentage of consolidated sales continues to be predicted at below 6 percent at the end of the year.
However, the Group expects to overcome the current challenges and continues to aim for its strategic target of achieving an EBITDA margin of 8 percent in the medium term, once the external markets have overall stabilized and the period of cost and sales pricing adjustments is over.
Operating performance
In the first three quarters of 2021, the Nordex Group increased order intake in its Projects segment (excluding services) from 3.8 GW to 4.6 GW; this corresponds to a value of EUR 3,219 million (9M 2020: EUR 2,642 million). Of this total, 62 percent related to Europe, 18 percent to Latin America and 16 percent to the “Rest of the world” region. By the end of September 2021, the Nordex Group had an order book of EUR 8.0 billion (9M 2020: EUR 7.9 billion), of which EUR 5.0 billion (9M 2020: EUR 5.1 billion) relates to the Projects segment and EUR 3.0 billion (9M 2020: EUR 2.8 billion) to the Service segment.
The Nordex Group further increased its turbine assembly output, expanding production by almost nine percent from 4,415 MW in the previous year to 4,807 MW in the first nine months of 2021. The Nordex Group also produced 1,242 rotor blades in its own plants (9M 2020: 990 blades).
The Nordex Group increased its installation output again in the first nine months of 2021, installing a total of 1,216 wind turbines in 22 countries with a total output of 4,858 MW (9M/2020: 1,052 wind turbines in 21 countries with a total output of 3,817 MW). This represents an increase of 27.3 percent compared to the previous year (in MW). Europe accounted for just under 57 percent of installations and non-European markets for around 43 percent. As a result of these installations, the Projects segment generated sales of EUR 3,632 million (9M 2020: EUR 2,852 million) during the reporting period, up 27.3 percent year-on-year. Sales in the Service segment continued their steady growth, rising by 4.2 percent to EUR 331.8 million as of the end of September (9M 2020: EUR 318.3 million).
The Nordex Group also entered the 6 MW+ class in the third quarter of 2021. The N163/6.X continues Nordex’s successful approach of offering wind turbines with flexible output that has been established with the Delta4000 series.
Key financial figures at a glance
Total assets fell from EUR 4,410 million at the end of 2020 to EUR 4,264 million as of 30 September 2021, with liabilities to banks being reduced significantly. This contrasts with a sharp increase in equity as a result of the capital increase completed in July 2021. As a result, the equity ratio rose considerably to 28.5 percent as of 30 September 2021 (31 December 2020: 17.5 percent). The net debt as of 31 December 2020 in the amount of EUR 41 million has turned into a net cash position of EUR 516 million. The working capital ratio in relation to consolidated sales also improved to minus 7.7 percent (31 December 2020: minus 6.3 percent), thus remaining well below the target level of minus 6 percent set for the end of 2021.
“We continue to see strong demand for our product portfolio, while the ambitious climate targets announced by politicians in many countries mean the outlook remains highly promising for our industry. Renewable energy sources, including onshore wind energy, are widely accepted and form an important part of the energy transition,” said José Luis Blanco, CEO of Nordex SE. “Our main priority now is to push ahead efficiently with our production and installation activities and manage the extremely high raw material and logistics costs, as this volatile environment might stay with us for a while yet.”
The complete interim report for the first nine months of 2021 is now available on the Nordex Group’s website in the Investor Relations section under “Publications” (ir.nordex-online.com). The Group interim management report and the condensed interim consolidated financial statements were not reviewed by an auditor.
Nordex Group key financials
| (in EUR million) | 30.9.2021 | 30.9.2020 | Change (%) |
| Sales | 3,956 | 3,167 | 24.9 |
| thereof Service segment | 331.8 | 318.3 | 4.2 |
| Gross revenue | 3,585 | 3,108 | 15.4 |
| EBITDA | 100.7 | 70.8 | 42.2 |
| EBITDA margin | 2.5% | 2.2% | 0.3 PP |
| EBIT margin (adjusted for PPA) | -0.1% | -0.8% | 0.7 PP |
| Consolidated net profit/loss | -103.7 | -107.5 | n/a |
| Capital expenditure | 112.2 | 108.6 | 3.3 |
| Free cash flow | 23.2 | -378.2 | n/a |
| Working capital ratio (31.12.) | -7.7% | -6.3% | -1.4 PP |
| Liquidity (31.12.) | 871.2 | 778.4 | 11.9 |
| Net debt (31.12.) | -516.1 | 40.9 | n/a |
| Equity ratio (31.12.) | 28.5% | 17.5% | 11.0 PP |
| Order intake (Projects) | 3,219 | 2,642 | 21.8 |
| Order intake (Service) | 422 | 477 | -11.5 |
| Order book (Projects) | 5,006 | 5,138 | -2.6 |
| Order book (Service) | 2,953 | 2,768 | 6.7 |
