US company Broadwind made a net loss of over $1m in the first quarter of 2021, compared with a $1m profit in the same period last year.
Broadwind said the first quarter results were impacted by a more than one-week outage at the its Abilene, Texas, tower facility due to adverse weather conditions during February and a temporary shift in the timing of a large customer order initially slated to be delivered in Q1.
The factors combined had a negative impact of $9m on Q1 revenue, the company said.
Revenue was down 33% to $32.7m compared with the first three months of 2020.
Declines in revenue in the heavy fabrications and gearing segment were partially offset by growth in the industrial solutions segment, the company said.
Broadwind said it has booked approximately 60% of its full-year 2021 optimal wind tower capacity, including approximately $4m of new wind tower orders received in April.
Both of the company’s tower production facilities in Texas and Wisconsin are currently fully operational, it said.
Total orders increased 1% year-over-year to $34m in the first quarter 2021.
Gearing orders increased on a sequential basis for the second consecutive quarter, with orders increasing by 73% in the first quarter of 2021 when compared to the fourth quarter of 2020.
Total backlog increased 2% in the first quarter to $94.4m. As of 31 March, heavy fabrications’ orders represented approximately 73% of the company’s total backlog.
Broadwind president Eric Blashford said: “Although our first quarter results were adversely impacted by a combination of adverse weather conditions, a shift in the timing of a customer order and pandemic-related supply chain constraints, our business recovered during April, supported by new customer orders and improved plant utilisation.
“We are seeing a broad market recovery that will drive growth in our industrial businesses in the second half of this year.”
“Wind tower orders more than doubled on a year-over-year basis in the first quarter, as original equipment manufacturer customers began to fill production slots for the second half of 2021.
“To date, we have booked approximately 60% of our optimal wind tower production capacity for the full-year 2021.
“First quarter gearing orders improved sequentially, supported by increased demand within both industrial and energy markets, consistent with our expectations for a gradual recovery in the Gearing segment during 2021.”