Vestas experienced a surge in profitability in the final quarter of 2024, achieving an EBIT before special items of €759m, compared to €191m at the same time in 2023.
This was driven by revenue of €6.1bn – an increase of 29% compared to the year-earlier period.
The quarterly intake of firm and unconditional wind turbine orders amounted to 6516MW, a decrease from the record-high fourth quarter 2023.
The value of the wind turbine order backlog was €31.6bn as at 31 December 2024.
In addition to the wind turbine order backlog, at the end of the quarter, Vestas had service agreements with expected contractual future revenue of €36.8bn.
As a result, the value of the combined backlog of wind turbine orders and service agreements stood at €68.4bn – an increase of €8.3bn compared to the year-earlier period.
Vestas added that, despite a step-up in depreciations and amortisations related to its V236-15.0 MWTM platform, the company expects profitability to increase in 2025 through stable raw material and transport costs as well as the completion of low margin legacy projects in 2024.
Henrik Andersen (pictured), Vestas group president & chief executive, said: “Vestas continued its positive trajectory in 2024 and achieved its outlook for the year with €17.3bn in revenue and an EBIT margin of 4.3% for the full year, an improvement of 2.8 percentage points.
“The year didn’t evolve as expected, but with a record-high value of the order intake, an all-time high order backlog and an extraordinary turnaround in Power Solutions, Vestas leaves 2024 stronger than we entered it.
“Our Service business had a challenging 2024, battling rising costs, but remains a strong, profitable business that is executing on its recovery plan, and is key to achieving our long-term ambitions.
“Our progress in 2024 was driven by our relentless focus on value over volume and improved execution amidst geopolitical uncertainty that is expected to cause disruption for societies and businesses in the coming years.
“In this environment, wind energy plays a key role to build an affordable, secure and sustainable energy system, and we continue to deliver on our strategic priorities, including ramping up manufacturing to deliver on our order backlog and help the world meet its growing energy needs.
“We would like to thank our partners, customers, and colleagues for their support in 2024, and are pleased to return value directly to our shareholders based on our 2024 results.”