Siemens Energy has reported a net loss of €2.9 billion for the third quarter and slashed its outlook for annual revenues, as it struggles to fix its troubled wind turbine business.
It has warned that resolving issues at its Siemens Gamesa wind turbine division, which has been beset by technical problems as well as the inflationary pressures affecting the rest of the industry, will be costlier than expected. The German group now expects losses this year to reach €4.5 billion.
In an ad hoc release in June, the company said the issues would cost €1 billion to fix, admitting that faults were more severe than it had thought possible.
The company has experienced quality problems in the rotor blades and main bearings of its 4.X and 5.X onshore wind turbines.
In addition to the quality-related charges, Siemens Gamesa expects higher product costs in the offshore sector, which means that projects already committed to contractually cannot be completed profitably if implemented by the customer. In addition, there are further challenges in the ramp-up of offshore activities.
Announcing yesterday’s results, Chief Executive Christian Bruch insisted that strong performance in other parts of the business gave him confidence in the company’s “ability to put businesses back on a strong footing” but acknowledged that the problems were a “massive setback”.