Further operational problems at the Spanish wind power subsidiary Siemens Gamesa destroy the profit planning of Siemens Energy. Because the wind turbine manufacturer has to reckon with operational losses for the second time in a row in the current 2020/21 financial year (as of the end of September), the German parent company is also failing to achieve its target return. The operating return on sales before special items will remain below the targeted range of three to five percent, admitted the energy technology group. The Siemens Energy share listed in the leading index Dax collapsed by eleven percent. Siemens Gamesa shares, in which Siemens Energy holds the majority, plummeted by up to 18 percent; this year it has lost a third of its value. The bad news also triggered a sell-off of titles from other wind turbine manufacturers: Nordex and the Danish company Vestas fell by 4.9 and 6.4 percent, respectively.
Siemens Gamesa CEO Andreas Nauen also indicated that it could take a year longer for the company’s hope to achieve its goals. Nauen, who moved to the helm of Siemens Gamesa a year ago, no longer wanted to decide whether an operating margin of eight to ten percent could be achieved by 2023 or not until 2024. “We’ll get back to you when we’ve finished our homework continue, “Nauen told analysts. Siemens Gamesa is struggling with sharply rising raw material prices for steel and copper, but also with problems with the ramp-up of the new generation of turbines. In Brazil in particular, the corona pandemic is causing supply and execution problems that drive costs up, the company said. Operational problems and deficit projects are not new to Gamesa. In 2019/20 the Spanish were surprised by the winter when installing five large wind farms in Norway. Talks with customers about passing on the high steel prices are difficult, said Nauen. “But it is clear that given the magnitude of the increases, we cannot sit on it.” Siemens Gamesa no longer expects a profit in the current fiscal year. Sales will be at the lower end of the forecast range of 10.2 to 10.5 billion euros.
In view of these figures, the parent company will not meet the analysts’ expectations in the third quarter, warned Siemens Energy. However, as planned, consolidated sales should increase by three to eight percent in the financial year; Siemens Energy had already made cuts in this area three months ago. In the traditional business with turbines for gas and coal-fired power plants, everything is going according to plan, emphasized Siemens Energy. The future of the group should lie above all with Siemens Gamesa.