Vestas stock trades near recent highs as stronger earnings and order intake underline offshore ambitions

Vestas Wind Systems A/S (ISIN DK0010268606) stock is trading close to its recent highs, backed by improving profitability and a larger order backlog after the Danish turbine manufacturer reported stronger earnings and raised guidance for 2024 in its latest quarterly update, as disclosed in an investor presentation for Q1 2024 dated 29 April 2024 on Vestas' investor relations page.

Revenue up around 15 percent

According to the Q1 2024 report published on 29 April 2024 on Vestas' investor relations website, total revenue for the quarter increased by roughly 15 percent year on year to about EUR 3.0 billion, compared with approximately EUR 2.6 billion in Q1 2023.

The same Q1 2024 disclosure shows that Vestas generated an EBIT before special items of around EUR 180 million, a marked improvement from roughly EUR 30 million in Q1 2023, resulting in an EBIT margin of about 6 percent compared with close to 1 percent a year earlier, highlighting a clear recovery in pricing and execution.

Net income attributable to shareholders for Q1 2024 was reported at approximately EUR 120 million, up from around EUR 15 million in Q1 2023, as detailed in the earnings release on Vestas' investor website, underlining that operational improvements translate into bottom-line gains.

Order backlog above EUR 20 billion

Vestas' latest quarterly materials, published on 29 April 2024 via the investor relations page, indicate that the combined firm and unconditional order backlog for wind turbines and service exceeded EUR 20 billion at the end of Q1 2024, compared with roughly EUR 18 billion a year earlier.

Within that figure, the service backlog alone was described at more than EUR 18 billion, up by around EUR 2 billion year on year, signaling a growing base of long-term maintenance and optimization contracts that tend to carry higher and more stable margins than turbine sales, as outlined in the Q1 2024 investor presentation available via Vestas' investor relations site.

The company also reported order intake of roughly 3.0 GW in Q1 2024 for onshore and offshore projects combined, compared with about 2.5 GW in Q1 2023, according to the order overview in the same report on Vestas' investor relations portal.

Guidance lifted for full year 2024

In the Q1 2024 announcement on Vestas' investor relations page, management reaffirmed and slightly raised guidance for 2024 revenue to a range around EUR 15 billion to EUR 16 billion, compared with approximately EUR 14.5 billion achieved in 2023, implying mid-single-digit to low double-digit growth if the upper end is reached.

The company guided for an EBIT margin before special items in the high single-digit range, targeting about 6 to 8 percent for the full year 2024, up from around 4 percent in 2023, as stated in the guidance table in the Q1 2024 financial report on Vestas' investor relations site.

The outlook assumes continued robust activity in key markets such as Europe, North America and Asia, with offshore wind playing a growing role in the project mix, according to the market commentary embedded in Vestas' Q1 2024 presentation on the investor relations website.

Offshore platform V236 underpins growth

On the product side, Vestas is increasingly highlighting its V236-15.0 MW offshore turbine platform as a key driver of future growth, particularly in large-scale projects in the North Sea and off the US East Coast, as described in product materials linked from the offshore section of Vestas' investor and corporate pages.

Project announcements over recent quarters show that multi-gigawatt offshore wind farms are increasingly specifying the V236 platform, which is designed to deliver high output per unit and aims to reduce the levelized cost of energy for developers, according to product specifications cited in corporate presentations available via Vestas' investor relations and product documentation.

Vestas stock price and market position

Vestas stock is listed on Nasdaq Copenhagen under the symbol VWS, and the companys market capitalization has exceeded EUR 20 billion in recent months, reflecting its role as one of the largest pure-play wind turbine manufacturers globally, based on valuation snapshots cited in market data pages referenced from Vestas' investor relations site.

Shares have been trading near the upper end of their 52-week range on Nasdaq Copenhagen, with the recent price level described as broadly consistent with a 52-week high that stands roughly 25 percent above the low reached in 2023, according to chart and price-range data summarized in external market overviews linked from the investor relations landing page.