Danish wind turbine maker Vestas reported on Wednesday a bigger rise than expected in first-quarter profit as its ramp-up of production for the offshore sector gained pace, and said it still expects sales to rise this year.
Vestas warned of uncertainty around geopolitical developments and trade tariffs but repeated guidance given in February for a full-year operating profit margin before special items of six per cent-eight per cent on sales of between €20 billion and €22 billion.
In 2025, the margin was 5.7 per cent on sales of €18.8 billion.
The group, which has struggled in recent years with supply chain disruptions, cost inflation and offshore ramp-up costs, is seeking to turn a record backlog into higher margins while facing US wind policy and trade tariff uncertainty.
In the first quarter, operating profit before special items rose to €127 million ($149 million) from a year-earlier 14 million against a mean forecast of 71 million in an analyst poll shared by Vestas, and the margin widened to 3.2 per cent from 0.4 per cent.
"We achieved the highest first-quarter profitability since 2018," CEO Henrik Andersen said in a statement. "The current geopolitical uncertainty and energy crisis underline the need for affordable, secure, and sustainable energy."
Sales in the quarter, the seasonally slowest of the year for the sector, rose 14 per cent to €3.97 billion, slightly above expectations. Vestas said the rise was driven by sales of offshore turbines as its ramp-up of production gained pace.
Order intake increased slightly less than expected, to 4.50 gigawatts (GW) from 3.14 GW, driven by onshore orders across regions and especially strong offshore activity.
Vestas said it would buy back €100 million worth of shares.
(Reporting by Jesus Calero, editing by Anna Ringstrom)
