Vestas (VWDRY) shares fell Thursday after the company reported a first-quarter adjusted EBIT loss and lower revenue year-on-year.
Vestas's first quarter adjusted EBIT came in at -EUR68 million. Analysts had forecasted an adjusted EBIT profit for the company. Revenue for the quarter came in at EUR2.68 billion, 5.2% below the EUR2.83 billion reported in Q1 2023 and missing analyst consensus expectations.
The company also reported an order intake of 2.3 GW and a record-high combined order backlog of EUR61 billion.
In addition to its wind turbine backlog, Vestas said it had service agreements with an expected contractual future revenue of EUR34.4 billion.
CEO Henrik Anderson said: "Vestas' underlying performance continued to improve in the first quarter of 202, and our financial results were in line with expectations.
"As we ramp up to deliver on growing backlog and deliver across both onshore and offshore, we continue to lead the industry and focus on achieving our financial goals."
Vestas maintained its full-year guidance of revenue between EUR16 billion and EUR 18 billion.
Reacting to the report, analysts at Jefferies said it was a weak start to the year for the company and a strong ramp-up is needed. "EBIT was significantly below with deeply negative margins in Power Solutions despite slight yoy improvement, Services was strong and on track for FY guide," wrote the firm.
UBS stated that they expected a negative share price reaction led by the results miss. However, "the unchanged FY guidance may assuage some concerns."
"We would expect limited changes/ very small cuts (low-single-digit) to consensus 2024 estimates on the back of these results," added the bank.