COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -Wind turbine maker Vestas on Wednesday reported a smaller-than-expected rise in operating profit for the second quarter but maintained its financial outlook for the year as it expected to absorb the impact of U.S. policy uncertainty.
Vestas reported an April-June operating profit before one-off items of 57 million euros ($66.56 million), below the 89 million euros expected by 22 analysts in a poll compiled by the company, but up from a year-ago loss of 185 million euros.
“In the quarter, we had good order momentum in EMEA, but political uncertainty impacted key markets,” CEO Henrik Andersen said in a statement, adding that the company was working to address challenges.
The largest wind turbine maker outside of China kept its 2025 forecast unchanged for an operating profit margin before special items of 4%-7% and revenue of 18 billion to 20 billion euros, slightly up from 17.3 billion euros in 2024.
There remained considerable uncertainty over tariffs, especially in the United States, Vestas said.
Wind turbines include components and materials sourced globally, making the sector vulnerable to trade tariffs.
U.S. President Donald Trump has issued executive orders and bills that curtail the use of incentives for wind and solar energy, which dominate the queue of new power generation waiting to connect to the electric grid.
Vestas said its second quarter wind turbine orders dropped by 44% in megawatts (MW), as orders fell in some core markets such as the U.S..
While rising tariffs will likely raise costs, Vestas expected this would also lead to higher electricity prices.
($1 = 0.8564 euros)
(Reporting by Nora Buli, editing by Terje Solsvik and Bernadette Baum)
