GE Vernova cautious about wind sector as gas business soars
2024.12.10 19:37
(Reuters) -GE Vernova said on Tuesday that it had resumed installing turbines at two offshore wind farms that experienced equipment failures this year, but the company’s CEO said he was cautious about the outlook for the struggling sector.
In a presentation to investors in New York, GE Vernova CEO Scott Strazik said the company was still not taking new orders for offshore wind turbines and forecast more losses in its wind segment in 2025.
“We aren’t going to chase bad deals,” he said on stage, adding that the power equipment maker was expecting little to no growth in onshore wind for the next three years.
GE Vernova’s wind division has lost hundreds of millions of dollars this year due to delays at major offshore projects in the United States and the United Kingdom (TADAWUL:) because of accidents involving its turbines.
Full construction at the Vineyard Wind project off the coast of Massachusetts had been paused for months following a high-profile blade failure. A company probe found workers at a Quebec turbine blade factory took shortcuts on quality control.
The broader offshore segment has also struggled with cost inflation and supply chain challenges, and Strazik said the company was seeing more customer interest in its nuclear and electrical grid software offerings.
GE Vernova became an independent company this year following a three-way split of General Electric (NYSE:). Strazik said the company has been focused on reducing costs and improving profitability.
The company is expecting revenue to be down by mid-single digits in 2025, compared to the forecast of revenue being flat this year, it said in a statement ahead of a meeting with investors in New York.
Weakness in the wind segment has been offset by strong demand for GE Vernova’s gas turbines and electrical grid equipment to serve soaring power needs of data centers.
“I can’t think of a time that the gas business has had more fun than they’re having right now,” Strazik said.
The company expects to have 20 gigawatts of gas equipment orders this year compared with 11 GW last year, he said. By 2027, the company will be producing 80 gas turbines a year, compared with 55 currently.
The company forecast higher revenues for next year of between $36 billion and $37 billion, up from the expected upper-end of $34 billion to $35 billion in 2024.
It also sees free cash flow rising to between $2 billion and $2.5 billion in 2025, up from the higher end of $1.3 billion to $1.7 billion for this year.
The company also authorized a share buyback of $6 billion and a new quarterly dividend of 25 cents per share.
