Ørsted ups lower end of EBITDA guidance, returns to nine-month profit

Offshore and onshore renewables developer Ørsted A/S (CPH:ORSTED) on Tuesday nudged up the lower end of its full-year EBITDA guidance after reporting “solid” earnings in the first nine months of the year.

The Danish green energy company now expects annual earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), excluding earnings from new partnerships and impact from cancellation fees, to be in the range of DKK 24 billion (USD 3.5bn/EUR 3.2bn) to DKK 26 billion, compared to DKK 23 billion-26 billion previously.

In the first nine months of 2024, Ørsted returned to a net profit of DKK 6.1 billion from a DKK-19.9-billion loss in the same period of 2023.

EBITDA in the nine months rose to DKK 23.6 billion from DKK 19.4 billion in the same period last year. The result includes a DKK-6.4-billion net reversal of provisions for cancelled projects, which stems from better-than-expected contract settlements for the cancelled Ocean Wind development in the US. Excluding new partnerships and cancellation fees, EBITDA grew 12% year-over-year to DKK 17.2 billion.

Ørsted booked DKK 3.4 billion of impairments in the nine-month period related to the company's decision cease execution of the FlagshipONE e-fuels project in Sweden and, to a greater extent, the Revolution Wind offshore wind project in the US, which has faced challenges with the piling of one of the offshore substation monopiles, on top of a construction delay of the onshore substation. These were partly offset by the Sunrise Wind project being awarded a higher offshore wind renewable energy certificate (OREC) by the state of New York.

“Revolution Wind and Sunrise Wind, our two offshore wind projects in the US, are progressing according to the updated construction plan. However, we have seen risks impacting the construction of Revolution Wind, and we are working diligently and with a strong focus to de-risk the continued project execution,” said chief executive Mads Nipper.