Vestas' fourth-quarter operating profit lags forecasts, expects 2026 sales growth

Vestas, a wind turbine manufacturer, reported Thursday a fourth-quarter operating loss that was below expectations. However it said they expect revenue growth and increased profitability in 2026 despite tariff and geopolitical risk.

Vestas operating profit in the fourth quarter was 580 million Euros ($683.59 Million) down from 759 millions a year ago. This is against an average analyst poll of 597million euros.

Global wind industry is facing challenges due to trade policy concerns and?delays in permitting, especially in the United States where President Donald Trump wants to shut down projects that are already under construction offshore and stop new ones.

In terms of deliveries, the U.S. was Vestas' largest?market.

The business of the company includes both smaller offshore turbines and onshore turbines, which are installed on land.

The segment has continued to drag down overall profitability, despite the fact that it has invested heavily in scaling up its offshore operations.

It said that the fourth-quarter loss was primarily due to higher offshore costs and depreciation, but this was partly offset by "continued improvement in onshore project implementation".

The company stated that "Profitability will improve due to?revenue growth and progress in manufacturing ramp-up. We also expect continued good project execution as well as cost-out initiatives."

The poll predicted an operating profit margin of 6 to 8 percent for 2026, before special items. Revenues would range between 20 and 22 billion euro. This compares with the average poll forecast of 21 billion euro and the 18.8-billion-euro revenue achieved in 2025.

The company did acknowledge that "ongoing tariff and geopolitical risks will likely cause uncertainty."

(source: Reuters)