LM Wind Power Sees Near Ninefold Increase in Annual Net Profit

Danish blade designer and manufacturer LM Wind Power reported EUR 51.7 million net profit for the Fiscal Year 2016, a 776 per cent increase compared to EUR 5.9 million net profit recorded in FY 2015 driven by higher sales and better operating performance.

The company’s annual revenue was EUR 1.059 billion, a 41 percent increase on EUR 750 million revenue reported for FY 2015, mainly due to higher volumes.

Net debt at the end of 2016 was EUR 101.9 million, a 6.9 per cent increase compared to EUR 94.6 million net debt reported at the end of 2015 on the back of higher capital expenditure which included investments into new plants in Turkey and India.

In 2016 LM Wind Power became the producer of the world’s longest blade. The 88.4-metre blades were specifically designed for Adwen’s AD 8-180 wind turbine model the first three of which will soon be installed on a prototype in Bremerhaven.

In the last quarter of 2016, Doughty Hanson, a London-based private equity firm, agreed to sell its stake in LM Wind Power to General Electric (GE) for an enterprise value of EUR 1.5 billion.

The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2017, subject to regulatory approvals.

LM Wind Power plans to close EUR 130 million fixed rate notes due 2019 and NOK 475 million floating rate notes due 2020 at the same time as the closing of GE’s acquisition.