Aarhus, Denmark, 2017-02-08 08:43 CET (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --
Summary: For full-year 2016, revenue amounted to EUR 10.2bn, EBIT margin before special items was 13.9 percent, total net investments* were EUR 617m, and the free cash flow* amounted to EUR 1,564m – in line with the expectations to revenue of EUR 10.0bn-10.5bn, EBIT margin before special items of 13-14 percent, total net investments* of approx EUR 600m, and free cash flow* of EUR 1,500m-1,600m. The activity level and earnings of the period were driven by the stable execution of strong order books for wind turbines and service, both of which continued to grow during the year as a result of solid execution and a favourable market environment.
The wind turbine order intake increased from 8,943 MW in 2015 to 10,494 MW in 2016 and the value of the service order backlog increased by EUR 1.8bn to EUR 10.7bn.
For 2017, Vestas expects revenue to range between EUR 9.25bn and 10.25bn including service revenue, which is expected to grow. Vestas expects to achieve an EBIT margin before special items of 12-14 percent with the service EBIT margin remaining stable.
Total investments** are expected to amount to approx EUR 350m, and the free cash flow** is expected to be minimum EUR 700m in 2017.
As a result of the strong performance during the year, the Board of Directors recommends to the Annual General Meeting that a dividend of DKK 9.71 per share, compared to DKK 6.82 last year, and equivalent to 30 percent of the net profit for the year, be distributed to the shareholders.
The expected net proceeds from the sale of the office buildings announced yesterday will be distributed to shareholders through a DKK 705m (approx EUR 95m) share buy-back programme to be initiated today.
“I am extremely pleased with Vestas’ 2016 performance, delivering a record year on revenue, EBIT margin, net profit, free cash flow, order intake, and combined order backlog. Deliveries are up more than 29 percent year-on-year, while costs remained tightly under control. All regions contributed to the strong results, demonstrating once again the power of Vestas’ global reach” says Anders Runevad, Group President & CEO.
*) Before investments in marketable securities and short-term financial investments.
**) Before investments in marketable securities and short-term financial investments, and incl. expected proceeds from sale of office buildings.
Information meeting (audiocast)
On Wednesday, 8 February 2017 at 10 a.m. CET (9 a.m. GMT), Vestas will host an information meeting via an audiocast. The audiocast will be accessible via vestas.com/investor.
The meeting will be held in English and questions may be asked through a conference call. The telephone numbers for the conference call are:
Europe: +44 203 008 9814
USA: +1 646 502 5118
Denmark: +45 3544 5576
Further details at vestas.com/en/investor.
Presentation material for the information meeting will be available approx one hour before the meeting at vestas.com/en/investor.
Contact details
Vestas Wind Systems A/S, Denmark
Investors/analysts:
Hans Martin Smith, Senior Vice President, Group Treasury and Investor Relations
Tel: +45 9730 8209
Media:
Michael Zarin, Head of External Communications
Tel: +45 4084 1526
