The order intake at Siemens Gamesa halved to €2.3bn ($2.8bn) from October to December compared to the same quarter a year earlier, according to preliminary results.

The German-Spanish OEM has released the figures for what is the first quarter of its fiscal year 2021 on the website of the Spanish stock market regulator after its majority owner, Siemens Energy, had also announced preliminary results on Sunday.

The plunge in the order intake is “ reflecting the volatile nature of the offshore market with a strong contribution to both WTG [wind turbine generator] and service orders,” Siemens Gamesa said in a note issued by chief executive Andreas Nauen.

“Booking of wind turbine offshore orders, and new offshore turbines’ related service orders, is expected in the coming quarters, with no orders booked in Q1 FY21.”

Siemens Gamesa in its 2020 fiscal year ending September 30, 2020, had incurred a net loss of €918m as the Covid-19 pandemic had depressed the sales of onshore wind turbines, which in the first quarter of the fiscal year 2021 (ending on December 30, 2020) seem to have been the only segment receiving orders.

Large onshore orders

The company in December 2020 indeed won a large US order for 298MW Haystack wind project in Nebraska, and a 465MW order for a wind project in the Brazilian State of Bahia, but announced no offshore orders in the last quarter.

At the same time revenues in the October-December 2020 period rose 15% year-on-year to €2.3bn, supported by strong offshore growth, and negatively impacted by currency devaluation, Siemens Gamesa said.

Earnings before interest and taxes (Ebit) pre-PPA and before integration and restructuring costs (I&R) amounted to €121m, compared to a €136m loss in the first quarter of the financial year 2020. The OEM confirmed its outlook for the full fiscal year of 2021 of €10.2-11.2bn in revenues.

The company will publish full results this Friday.

Wind

‘Volatile‘ offshore wind market pushes Siemens Gamesa orders down but profit up