Operating profit at German developer PNE fell 46% in the first quarter of 2020, compared with the same period last year.
The company said perating profit was €2.3m in the first three months of this year, down from €4.3m in 2019.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) in the latest reported period dropped 7% to €6.4m from €6.9m last year.
PNE’s revenue fell to €15.7m, a 44% decline on the €28m posted in the first quarter of 2019.
The company said the results were on “target” and in the individual business segments – project development, service products and electricity generation – have developed as planned in the first quarter.
PNE said that “even though the first few months have already shown very clearly that 2020 will not be a normal year in view of global developments and the effects of the corona crisis, the board of management nevertheless looks to the year as a whole with cautious optimism”.
In the first quarter, the company started the construction of three further wind farms in Germany with a total capacity of 38.5MW, of which 4.2MW is a ‘citizen wind park’.
The construction of wind farms on behalf of customers in Sweden and Poland has been continued, PNE said.
One project in Poland was completed and put into operation, and in total, PNE managed around 284MW of projects under construction for its own account and for its customers at the end of the first quarter.
The company said it currently operates wind farms with an installed nominal capacity of 130.1MW in its own portfolio.
It has plans are to expand the portfolio of internally operated projects, primarily in Germany, to up to 500MW by the end of 2023.
The pipeline for onshore wind in various phases of development still comprises more than 5.1GW.
There was also progress in the first quarter in the development of photovoltaic projects expanding the solar pipeline to 132MW.
PNE confirmed a target for the year as a whole of EBITDA in the range of €15-€20m and operating profit of €5-€10m.
PNE chief executive Markus Lesser (pictured) said: “For us, this first quarter was one of the best in recent years, although it faded a little behind the exceptionally good first quarter of the previous year.
“Traditionally, we generate a large part of our earnings in the fourth quarter. In the first months of this year, we had to prepare for the Corona pandemic and the associated restrictions.
“We have reacted consistently to this, and the majority of our staff have worked from home.
“That this has worked is shown, among other things, by the fact that we were able to complete preparations for the final applications for approval of three wind farm projects and to start construction of three further wind farm projects in the first quarter. Meanwhile we are working under normal operational conditions again.”