Vestas made a loss of €57m in the first quarter of 2021, compared with a loss of €80m in the same period last year.
Revenue was €1962m, a decrease of 12% on the €2235m posted in 2020, while the operating loss (EBIT) was €71m compared with a deficit of €112m in Q1 2020.
The EBIT margin before special items therefore widened to minus 3.6% from minus 2.4%.
Vestas group president chief executive Henrik Andersen blamed logistical challenges and supply chain bottlenecks amplified by Covid-19 restrictions in strategic markets, as well as extraordinary events for the results.
The quarterly intake of firm and unconditional turbine orders amounted to 2016MW.
The value of the order backlog was €19.4bn as of 31 March 2021.
In addition, Vestas had service agreements with expected contractual future revenue of €25.3bn.
The value of the combined backlog of turbine orders and service agreements stood at €44.7bn – an increase of €10.6bn compared with the year-earlier period.
Vestas said it maintains its full-year guidance for 2021, with revenue expected to range between €16bn and €17bn, including service revenue.
Andersen said: “Following a strong end to 2020, continued impact from Covid-19 and lower activity levels affected Vestas’ results for the first quarter of 2021.
“Our order backlog reached an all-time high of €45bn, and as a reflection of the continued positive price development, our underlying profitability improved in the quarter.
“Our service backlog and revenue increased significantly in the first quarter, and we started welcoming around 3000 new colleagues in our offshore business as well as partnering with customers on upcoming offshore projects.
“At the same time, we continued the build-out of our global development business to capture a larger share of the value chain and accelerate the deployment of renewables.
“Although we have started the year a bit slower than expected, we remain positive we will catch up throughout the rest of the year by maintaining a strong focus on executing our 2021 goals and mid-term strategic priorities.”