This is a "giant" write-down for Ørsted, and in the long term it could have a significant impact on the company's willingness to invest in, among other things, offshore wind turbines. This is the conclusion from Jacob Pedersen, head of equity research at Sydbank, after Ørsted announced on Wednesday night that it was stopping the Ocean Wind 1 and 2 projects in the USA.
- This could mean that ambitions to build wind turbines in the future are being curtailed, because the financial resources cannot support that growth, he says.
Overall, Ørsted's write-downs amount to 28.4 billion kroner in the first nine months of the year. The majority of the write-downs, 19.9 billion kroner, come from Ocean Wind 1.
Jacob Pedersen calls it "a significant blow", but he does not necessarily believe that it is life-threatening for Ørsted. When it is still serious for the company, it is about the risk that the credit agencies will downgrade Ørsted.
- It will make it more expensive for Ørsted to borrow money. This will make Ørsted less competitive and make it more difficult to grow, says Jacob Pedersen.
Capital expansion an option
Ørsted also expects to have to set aside around 8 to 11 billion DKK more for expenses associated with stopping the Ocean Wind 1 project in the fourth quarter. Overall, this is something that affects Ørsted's equity, emphasizes Jacob Pedersen.
Therefore, management's next step will be to find out how to restore balance in the company's finances. And here Jacob Pedersen does not rule out that a capital expansion may come into play.
- First and foremost, Ørsted must find out how it will grow in the future. This must be done taking into account whether you need more capital or how to restore the balance, he says.
A capital increase means that a company issues new shares to get more money in the coffers. It also means that the existing shares become less valuable.
/ritzau/
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