Vestas shares climb on strong 1Q earnings

Strong order activity in the United States and China helped Danish turbine manufacturer Vestas Wind Systems A/S (OMX: VWS) turn a profit of 56 million euros, or about $62.4 million, in the first quarter that ended March 31.

Vestas, which operates factories in Windsor, Brighton and Pueblo, reported its earnings Wednesday, and saw its share price rise 3.5 percent to close at 325.9 Danish kroner, or $48.66.

The company’s revenue climbed to roughly $1.7 billion in the first quarter, up 18 percent from the same period a year ago. Profit was up from about $2.2 million a year ago.

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The company took in 1,750 megawatts in turbine orders in the first quarter, which helped drive its decision to increase guidance on 2015 revenue from a minimum of $7.2 billion to a minimum of $8.4 billion.

In recent days, the company had announced a 400-megawatt order from a wind farm in Nebraska. The latest order came this week for 72 megawatts from a wind farm in Kansas.

In March, Vestas announced plans to add 400 jobs at its Windsor facility. The company reported Wednesday that its worldwide employee count stood at 18,162 at the end of the first quarter, up 564 from three months earlier driven largely by the ramp-up at factories in the United States.