Offshore wind powerhouse Siemens Gamesa sees its value nearly halve in a year

Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy has cut its guidance for the coming year after a turbulent period that has seen its market capitalization nearly halve.

The wind turbine manufacturer on Thursday said it continued to be “challenged by market dynamics,” as supply chain disruptions weighed on results.

Between October and December 2021, the company said revenue fell to 1.83 billion euros (around $2.06 billion) — a year-on-year decline of 20.3%. The Spain-headquartered firm also reported an operating loss of 309 million euros and a net loss attributable to shareholders of 403 million euros.

Performance had been affected by supply chain disruptions in manufacturing alongside challenges in project execution and its onshore segment, it said.

“Considering the results in Q1 FY22 and the fact that the company does not expect supply conditions to normalize in the remainder of the year, Siemens Gamesa has adjusted its guidance for FY22,” the company added.

It now expects revenue to shrink by between 9% and 2% year-over-year (it previously saw a contraction of between 7% and 2%).

The results come after the company announced it was replacing CEO Andreas Nauen with Jochen Eickholt on March 1.

Siemens Gamesa’s shares were flat on Thursday morning, but have fallen over 45% in the last 12 months.

As a result the company’s market capitalization has slid from 22.9 billion euros a year ago, to around 12.58 billion euros currently.

Earlier this month the company — which the Global Wind Energy Council said was the world’s biggest supplier of offshore turbines in 2020 — said supply chain tensions had “resulted in higher than expected cost inflation, mainly affecting our Wind Turbine … segment.”

The company also cited what it called “volatile market conditions” as having “impacted some of our customers’ investment decisions.” This had led to delays in some of its projects.

Siemens Gamesa’s travails come after Danish turbine maker Vestas acknowledged that the wind energy sector faced a rocky road ahead due to a multitude of factors.

“The supply chain instability caused by the pandemic and leading to increasing transportation and logistics costs, is expected to continue to impact the wind power industry throughout 2022,” it said last Wednesday.

“In addition, Vestas will experience increased impact from cost inflation within raw materials, wind turbine components and energy prices.”

On Wednesday Miguel Angel López, chairman of Siemens Gamesa’s board of directors, said the company was “experiencing significant challenges in its Onshore business in a very difficult market.”

The company, he said, had “appointed an executive with a strong track record in managing complex operational situations and in successfully turning around underperforming businesses.”