Ørsted Goes Beyond EBITDA Expectations in 2019

World’s leading offshore wind developer Ørsted has reported an operating profit (EBITDA), excluding new partnerships, of DKK 17.5 billion (EUR 2.34 billion) for the Fiscal Year 2019, an increase of 17% compared to the same period a year earlier.

With the results of the new partnerships and the farm-down gains included, Ørsted’s EBITDA decreased by 42% compared to DKK 30 billion EBITDA reported for FY 2018. The decrease was mainly due to the 50% farm-down of the 1.2GW Hornsea 1 offshore wind farm in 2018 which contributed positively with DKK 15.1 billion.

The 2019 result has exceeded the company’s expectations at the beginning of the year as well as its most recent guidance of DKK 16-17 billion. This was mainly due to a strong offshore generation in December, better than expected performance from the trading activities, less negative effect from the value of the company’s gas at storage and lower costs across the group.

Earnings from offshore and onshore wind farms in operation increased by 30% to DKK 14.8 billion in 2019 driven by ramp-up of generation from new offshore wind farms and a full year with contribution and ramp-up in the onshore wind business, Ørsted said.

Net profit for the year amounted to DKK 6.1 billion, a 69% decrease compared to DKK 19.486 billion profit reported in 2018. Net profit in 2018 was significantly impacted by farm-down gains from new partnerships, the company said. Return on capital employed (ROCE) came in at 10.6%.

The green share of the company’s heat and power generation increased to 86%, following continued ramp-up of our offshore wind capacity, new onshore capacity and lower heat and power generation based on coal and gas. The company’s installed green capacity increased by 19% to 9.9GW in 2019.

Ørsted expects EBITDA, excluding new partnerships, to be DKK 15-16 billion in 2020. The decline compared to the 2019 results relates to earnings from existing offshore wind partnerships which amounted to DKK 3.8 billion in 2019, but are expected to be very limited in 2020.

Gross investments for 2020 are expected to amount to DKK 30-32 billion, reflecting a high level of construction activity related to offshore and onshore wind, and solar PV projects.