Siemens Gamesa is to cut up to 600 jobs over the next two years to reduce costs amid ongoing “adverse” market conditions.
The Spanish-German manufacturer, announcing a 20% EBIT increase to €253m in full-year results, said it is today starting consultations with workers’ representatives with a view to reaching agreement over the coming weeks.
The “white collar” jobs will go across its global operations. “Siemens Gamesa’s goal is to enhance competitiveness to maintain its leadership in the sector and secure profitable growth in the long term. This in turn will enable it to respond better to its customers’ needs in a changing industry,” said the company.
Price pressures and regulatory uncertainty in some markets will persist in the short term, making its next fiscal year a “transitional” one, the manufacturer said. Revenues are projected between €10,200m and €10,600m, and an EBIT margin of 5.5%-7%, lower than longer-term projections.
The company, however, reported the EBIT rise to €253, up from €211m for 2018, and in the fourth quarter met its market guidance with an EBIT margin before PPA and integration and restructuring costs of 7.1%
Siemens Gamesa also saw a 12% increase in revenues to €10bn.
The full-year revenue of €10.23bn was at the lower end of the previously expected range of between €10bn and €11bn.
The order backlog rose 12% year-on-year to €25.5bn as Siemens Gamesa’s order intake grew by 7.4% to €12.7bn.
Siemens Gamesa logged an order intake in the onshore business of 9389MW, up 4.8% on 2018, driven by demand in the US (27%) and India (20%), followed by Chile and China (7% each).
The offshore business registered double-digit growth of 10.9% due to new markets, mainly Taiwan, which contributed 1.5GW in firm orders.
Service orders increased by 13.4% in 2019, to €2,715m. The business unit accounts for 47% of the company’s order book.
Siemens Gamesa CEO Markus Tacke said, “There is no question that wind energy is coming of age and is now leading the energy transformation which is so critical to tackling climate change.
“These results show that we are successfully adapting to a changing industry and that our L3AD2020 strategy is on the right track to delivering long-term sustainable growth and leadership in our industry.”