Vestas Wind System A/S has inked a global supply order for 400 megawatts of wind turbines, with an option for an additional 1,000 MW – a welcome respite for the Denmark-based company which has suffered from the global economic crisis.
The contract with an unnamed customer includes supply installation and commissioning of the wind turbines, as well as a service agreement for two years to 10 years.
The turbines under the contract will be delivered and installed at different wind sites worldwide. The delivery will start in 2011 and is expected to be completed by the end of 2014.
Vestas was able to secure the supply deal despite a recent incident in Lem, Denmark where a blade piece became detached from Vestas’ V112-3.0 MW prototype wind turbine. Vestas has confirmed that the prototype blade was not subjected to the company’s normal verification and reliability testing.
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However, the company pledged to ensure that the prototype will meet higher standards than those applied for the turbine’s production.
“Being the only global company focused solely on wind technology, we are fully committed to ensure our customers the best return on investment in each wind project,” said Peter Kruse, senior vice president of Vestas.
The Danish wind turbine manufacturer was dealt a blow in the second quarter when its revenues dropped by 17 percent from 1.211 billion euros ($1.551 billion) to 1.007 billion euros.
Vestas only shipped 283 wind turbines and wind power segments with an aggregate capacity of 588 MW during the second quarter, posting a year-over-year decrease of 54 percent and 50 percent, respectively.
Delayed orders also forced the company to cut revenue and sales forecasts. During this period, supply-only orders accounted for a substantial part of their order intake and supply-and-installation orders provided a more balanced income flow.
The credit crisis prompted banks to impose restrictions on loans, resulting in a delay on Vestas’ orders. This affected most of their customers in the United States, Spain and Germany.
Because of the company’s poor second quarter performance, Vestas lowered its sales forecast this year to 6 billion euros, from 7 billion euros last year. It likewise cut its revenue forecast from a range of 10 percent to 11 percent to 5 percent to 6 percent.
The company will also lay off 300 employees and will not renew contracts of 300 temporary workers.
