Nordex targets further growth and improvement in earnings in 2014

Hamburg, 24 March 2014. On the basis of its audited consolidated financial statements, Nordex (ISIN: DE000A0D6554) confirms the preliminary figures for 2013 which it had reported in February. Thus, consolidated sales rose by around 33 percent to EUR 1,429.3 million (previous year: EUR 1,075.3 million), with return on sales widening to 3.1 percent. Consolidated profit after interest and taxes amounted to EUR 10.3 million, compared with a loss of EUR 94.4 million in the previous year, which arose mainly as a result of exceptional expenses in connection with the strategic realignment of the Group.

The gross margin expanded from 21.4 percent to the planned level of 22.6 percent in 2013. This substantial improvement reflects operating measures such as cuts in the cost of materials of an average of around EUR 100,000 per turbine, more profitable contracts with new products and more professional execution of projects.

This development was particularly encouraging as Nordex’s production and installation output simultaneously reached a new record. Thus, turbine assembly output rose by 48 percent to 1,342 MW, while installations of new wind turbines increased by 36 percent to 1,254 MW. In this way, Nordex was able to outperform industry trends and double its market share to almost eleven percent in its core EMEA region. In addition, Nordex installed wind power systems in South Africa and Uruguay for the first time. Consequently, Nordex is once again amongst the world’s ten largest producers of onshore wind turbines.

The Management Board projects a further increase in sales of up to EUR 1.5 billion for the current year, which is almost fully covered by the order backlog. “I am optimistic about the outlook for our future growth. Thus, we expect order intake of up to EUR 1.6 billion in 2014. However, even more important than business volume is the steady improvement in our earnings quality. We are targeting an EBIT margin of between 3.5 and 4.5 percent for 2014, supported by further progress in our “CORE 15” cost-cutting programme and the commencement of series production of our new Delta product platform,” says CEO Dr. Jürgen Zeschky.

In addition, the Management Board expects that the recently completed refinancing will reduce interest expense and thus have a positive impact on consolidated net profit. In addition, Nordex is aiming for a net cash inflow from operating activities for the third consecutive year (2013: EUR 98.1 million).  Free cash flow amounted to EUR 23.8 million in 2013.

As of the reporting date (31 December 2013), Nordex had a substantially improved balance sheet with an equity ratio of 30.9 percent (31 December 2012: 26.2%) and an increase in net liquidity to EUR 119.4 million (31 December 2012: EUR 29.6 million).