Vestas shares jump on 3Q earnings report

Shares of Danish wind turbine maker Vestas Wind Systems A/S (OMX: VWS) surged 15 percent following the company’s third-quarter earnings report.

Vestas, which operates one factory in Windsor and two in Brighton, reported a 27-percent drop in third-quarter revenue to $1.99 billion from $2.7 billion during the same period a year earlier.

Wednesday’s third-quarter earnings report marked two straight years of losses for Vestas, which embarked on a turnaround effort in 2011. However, the company narrowed its third-quarter losses to $119.7 million from $240 million.

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Vestas shares rose on the company’s increased cash flow, according to media reports. Vestas forecast its cash flow to total from $688 million to $964 million this year, which the company said will reduce its net debt.

Vestas also said it had 1,547 megawatts of wind turbine orders during the third quarter. The turbine orders marked a 286-percent increase from the 401 megawatts in orders during the third quarter of 2012. The company reported the value of the wind turbine backlog at $10 billion.

Vestas produced and shipped 1,607 megawatts of turbines during the third quarter, a 1-percent decrease.

The company ended the quarter with 17,237 employees, down from 20,090 at the end of the third quarter of last year. Vestas plans to employ no more than 16,000 people by the end of the year. Vestas employed more than 1,200 manufacturing employees statewide during the third quarter. At the end of the third quarter of 2012, it had 1,700 employees statewide.

Shares were up 22 points to 167.20 Danish kroner ($30.29 U.S.) on Wednesday.