Danish wind turbine OEM Vestas has suspended its financial guidance for this year as measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus have caused disruptions to its manufacturing, supply chain and installations.

“Unfortunately, the pandemic continues to spread and with no clear prognosis on when key wind markets such as the USA, Brazil and India will recover, we are suspending our guidance due to the poor visibility for the remainder of the year,” chief executive Henrik Andersen said.

Preliminary numbers indicate that the results for the first quarter are still in line with expectations, and the company also points to a solid order intake for the quarter of 3.3GW.

Vestas no longer has an adequate visibility for the remainder of the year, though, and therefore said it can’t confidently give guidance on its full-year performance.

As soon as the company deems that it is capable of giving new estimates for the full-year results, the manufacturer will disclose an updated guidance.

A proposed dividend for 2019 will not be affected by the decision to suspend guidance.

Vestas said that next to measures to ensure the health and safety of its employees, it is in dialogue with suppliers, partners and customers, and follows the recommendations and guidelines from health authorities and international organization such as the WHO.

A shimmer of hope came from the reopening of factories in China, where Vestas is working to mitigate the impact of lost production time through the company's global footprint, including using the capacity in China to mitigate challenges in other parts of the world, where restrictions and disruptions are now seen to an increasing degree.

Vestas had to close factories in Spain and India due to Covid-19 lockdown measures.