Just a few years ago, Ørsted had great ambitions to build offshore wind farms all over the world. Driven by low interest rates and green optimism, the company signed a series of agreements for projects in distant markets such as the USA and Asia.
But reality caught up with the Danish energy developer, who faced resistance in the form of higher interest rates, challenges in obtaining components on time and, most recently, Donald Trump's opposition to renewable energy.
Ørsted has adjusted its strategy down twice, and on Monday the company announced a capital increase, asking its shareholders for 60 billion kroner.
Among them is the Danish state, which with an ownership stake of 50.1 percent has already given its approval to inject an additional 30 billion kroner into the company.
Capital injection a necessary step in recovery
This money is to ensure that Ørsted can actually implement the scaled-down investment plan that was presented in February, explains Rasmus Errboe, CEO and CEO.
- We are in the process of rebuilding Ørsted after the difficulties of recent years, and the capital injection of 60 billion is a necessary step on that journey. It gives us a strong financial foundation for the future, and we are of course very aware of the trust that our main shareholder has shown us and also the responsibility that comes with it, he says.
Rasmus Errboe has no doubt about where Ørsted's focus should lie in the future. The company must expand its already strong market position when it comes to offshore wind farms in Europe.
- The future Ørsted will primarily be focused on offshore wind in Europe, which has a major task of securing energy independence. Offshore wind is a cornerstone in this context, which we, as a market leader with more than 30 years of experience, can help to lift. There are currently 37 gigawatts of offshore wind installed in Europe. There is an expectation that this figure can grow towards 2050 to more than 300 gigawatts, and we believe that we can create value in that market in the long term, says Rasmus Errboe.
He emphasizes that Ørsted's underlying business - the pure operation of energy parks - remains healthy. In addition, it expects to sell off ownership interests in parks worth at least 35 billion kroner in 2025 and 2026.
This should also mean that it can start paying dividends to shareholders again from the financial year 2026. This happened in the spring of 2023 at the latest.
/ritzau/
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