MARKETS

Ørsted holds fast as Woodmac notes renewables resilience

OFFSHORE wind giant Ørsted recorded a 33% increase in its EBITDA at the end of the March quarter, compared to the same period last year, as analyst group Wood Makenzie noted the sector’s durability in the market downturn.

 Investor interest remains high, despite current economic challenges

Investor interest remains high, despite current economic challenges

 

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In its quarterly released last week, Danish Ørsted said operating profit amounted to DKK 6.8 billion, (A$1.5 billion), while earnings from offshore and onshore wind farms in operation increased by 25% to DKK5.2 billion, driven by a ramp up in generation from wind farms Hornsea 1, Locket and Sage Draw.

The company even increased its EBITDA guidance from DKK15-16 to DKK16-17 billion due to the updated assumptions regarding the divestment asset for its Hornsea 1 offshore wind farm. 

"Despite the COVID-19 crisis and its profound impact on societies around the world, we have had a very good start to the year with strong financial results and solid operational performance across the entire business," Ørsted CEO Henrik Poulsen said. 

The company noted there was a risk of construction delays due to the impact the pandemic was having on component supply chains, but said these risks were "limited both in terms of timing and economics." 

In analysis released today, Wood Mackenzie said while the broader economic slowdown could delay new projects in renewable energy and the uptake in electric vehicles, the broader sector was showing resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly compared to oil. 

Referring to Shell seeing  46% drop in earnings for the first quarter as well as cutting its  quarterly dividend, Wood Mackenzie vice president of corporate analysis Luke Parker said a permanent dividend reset from Shell could help push more cash flow to be available to invest in renewables, EV infrastructure and other low carbon tech. 

Shell chief Ben Van Beurden said last week the supermajor was "protecting some of our spend across all of our businesses, including power, to continue to provide lower-carbon energy products and solutions today while building profitable lower-carbon energy business models for the future."

The company recently declared its net-zero by 2050 ambitions, following other European majors' lead in Repsol, BP and Equinor.

Woodmac also pointed to the UK-based BlackRock's Global Energy and Power Infrastructure Fund being oversubscribed last month, reaching US$5.1 billion, well above the targeted $3.5 billion, as an example of investor sentiment in the sector remaining strong. 

The third round of the fund aims to generate investments in energy infrastructure businesses and assets, focusing specifically on the power sector. 

"Investor interest in power and renewable energy remains high," Woodmac said. 







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