Vestas warns of strain on wind industry
Wind turbine maker Vestas posted a deep first-quarter loss and slashed its 2022 margin forecast due to the war in Ukraine and writedowns in its offshore business, reflecting an industry-wide struggle to turn profit despite record demand. Focus on renewables has intensified as the West steps up efforts to wean itself off Russian fossil fuels, but what Moscow refers to as its “special operation” in Ukraine has also boosted already soaring raw material and freight costs. “The business environment worsened significantly during the first quarter of 2022 due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the associated ripple effects on global trade and cost inflation,” Vestas said in its earnings report late Sunday. Its shares, which had spiked following Russia’s invasion of its neighbour, were trading 6.8% lower at 0847 GMT on Monday, wiping out all of those gains.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 3rd, 2022.
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