Orsted net profit jumped 53% to almost Dkr20.20bn (€2.71bn) in 2017, up from just over Dkr13.21bn in 2016.
The Danish company was boosted by earnings from wind power, which soared 74% to almost Dkr20.60bn last year, compared with just under Dkr11.90bn in 2016.
Output from electricity generation in the wind power business stood at 8.5 terrawatt-hours in 2017, a 42% increase on 2016’s 6TWh.
Overall earnings grew 18% to Dkr22.5bn last year from Dkr19.11bn the previous year, with earnings from the distribution and customer solutions business, which fell 71% to Dkr2.1bn, reducing the impact from wind.
Earnings last year were above expectations, which had been between Dkr15bn and Dkr17bn, the company said.
Orsted said the better than expected earnings were down to “faster ramp up” in wind power, lower CAPEX spendings that led to high “farm-down gains” and stronger trading results in markets.
It also saw the benefit of an earlier close of the 450MW Borkum Riffgrund 2 project and redistribution of gains to 2017 from 2018 from the 659MW Walney 3 wind farm.
In 2018, Orsted expects earnings from offshore wind, excluding partnership agreements, to increase from the Dkr8.5bn posted in 2017.
The company also expects a 50% farm-down of the 1.2GW Hornsea 1 project in either the second half of the year or in 2019.
Image: Orsted
Orsted profit soars 53%
By EBS