Denmark's Orsted reported sharply higher fourth-quarter cash flow and a bigger-than-expected reduction in debt as the group boosts its balance sheet to navigate US President Donald Trump's clampdown on offshore wind.
Orsted expanded rapidly over the past decade but more recently faced higher costs from supply chain disruption and inflation. It faces regulatory challenges in the US, where Trump has sought to halt several ongoing developments.
A rights issue last autumn along with divestments helped reduce net debt to DKK19 billion ($3 billion) at the end of 2025. This is down from DKK58 billion a year ago and below the DKK31 billion expected by analysts in a company-provided poll.
Stakes in the Greater Changhua two offshore wind farm in Taiwan and Britain's Hornsea three offshore wind farm were among those sold. There is a clear indication that the balance sheet is in a stronger position following the divestment programme, broker RBC said in a separate note.
Shares in the company were up 1.97 per cent at 10:56 GMT, after rising as much as four per cent in morning trade. They are down nearly 20 per cent since Trump took office in January 2025.
The company's operating cash flow for the fourth quarter rose by 66 per cent to DKK17.09 billion ($2.7 billion). This was a bigger than expected increase, brokers Berenberg said in a note to clients following the company's annual report.
The world's biggest developer and operator of offshore wind farms reiterated guidance that core earnings for 2026 would be higher than DKK28 billion. It maintained its intention to reinstate dividends from the fiscal year of 2026.
Orsted is currently building two US offshore projects, Revolution Wind and Sunrise Wind, following court decisions that suspended the Trump administration's stop-work orders. Revolution Wind is 87 per cent complete with commissioning works expected to be finalised in the second half of this year.
Sunrise Wind is 45 per cent complete with commissioning planned for the second half of 2027. No negative surprises and unchanged US construction timeline is a positive for Orsted, brokerage Jefferies said in a note.
(Reporting by Louise Rasmussen and Stine Jacobsen, editing by Anna Ringstrom, Terje Solsvik and Elaine Hardcastle)
