Interim report for the first half year 2020 - Strong first half

Today, Ørsted’s Board of Directors approved the interim report for the first half-year (H1) of 2020. Our operating profit (EBITDA) amounted to DKK 9.8 billion, an 11% increase compared to the same period last year.

Earnings from offshore and onshore wind farms in operation increased by 17% to DKK 8.2 billion driven by ramp-up of power generation from Hornsea 1, Lockett, and Sage Draw together with high wind speeds. 

Net profit amounted to DKK 2.5 billion and return on capital employed (ROCE) came in at 11%.

The green share of our heat and power generation increased from 82% to 88%.

Our EBITDA guidance is unchanged relative to the guidance in our interim financial report for Q1 2020, and thus we re-iterate our EBITDA guidance of DKK 16-17 billion in 2020. We lower our expectation to gross investments by DKK 2 billion to DKK 28-30 billion in 2020 due to changed timing of payments.

Henrik Poulsen, CEO and President of Ørsted, says:
“Despite the comprehensive health, social, and economic consequences of COVID-19, Ørsted has maintained stable operations and strong earnings during 2020. Our asset base has continued to be fully operational and we have maintained normal availability rates on our offshore and onshore wind farms.

We have however seen negative COVID-19 related effects on European power markets, especially in the UK, driven by lower demand for electricity. The negative impact on our Q2 earnings was approx. DKK 150 million. A contained impact which does not change our full-year expectations.

Our construction projects have largely progressed according to plans, both in Europe, Asia, and the US. The part of our portfolio most affected by COVID-19 is the construction of offshore substations for Hornsea 2 and Greater Changhua 1 & 2a. These are being constructed at two shipyards in Singapore, which were closed down for two months due to COVID-19. The shipyards have now begun to slowly ramp-up again. Although we still expect to be able to complete both projects within our budget and time schedule, we see increased risk of delays; especially at Hornsea 2. We expect any delays to have a limited overall impact on project economics.