Ørsted, formerly Dong Energy, the international renewable energy company and world’s largest offshore wind developer, announced on 1 February its full year results for 2017. The company achieved a strong operating profit (EBITDA) of DKK 22.5 billion in 2017, 18% up on 2016.
It increased its share of renewable energy by 14 % to 64%. The company’s target is for at least 95% of heat and power generation in 2023 to be green.
Underlying operating profit (EBITDA) adjusted for non-recurring items was 56% higher than in 2016, the company’s highest ever.
Wind Power EBITDA increased by 74% to DKK 20.6 billion. The sales of 50% of wind farms Walney Extension and Borkum Riffgrund 2 contributed significantly to this. Earnings from offshore wind farms in operation increased by 45%. Return on capital employed (ROCE) increased to 25% in 2017 from 17% in 2016, disregarding non-recurring income from gas contracts totalling DKK 4.3 billion in 2016.
Net profit for the continuing part of the group increased by DKK 1.1 billion to DKK 13.3 billion. The Board of directors recommended that dividend payments be increased by 50% from DKK 6 to DKK 9 per share.
CEO Henrik Poulsen commented: "In 2017, we took decisive steps towards completing our strategic transformation to a green energy company. We continued our build-out of green energy generation from offshore wind and biomass, we divested our oil and gas business, and we made the decision to be coal-free by 2023. It was also the year when we won projects both in Germany and the UK, and for the first time offshore wind was able to compete on cost with new-builds of coal- and gas-fired power stations.
“We are making good progress in the strategic expansion of our offshore wind business. In November, a panel of experts under the Taiwanese environmental authorities recommended granting environmental permits to our four offshore wind projects in Greater Changhua. In December, we submitted our first bid for an offshore wind farm project in the USA. The bid concerns the Bay State Wind project in Massachusetts, where we want to construct an offshore wind farm together with our partner, Eversource Energy.
“In the coming years, we will pursue our objective of continued build-out of offshore wind. We also want to make our utility business greener, create a smart power distribution grid and improve our customer experience through digitisation and innovation of our products. In addition, we are working to expand our portfolio of long-term growth opportunities within green energy. For instance, we have established a new unit to explore energy storage and solar PV projects, and we are also looking more closely at the market for onshore wind."
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