Ørsted Says Offshore Business Faced Headwinds in Q4

Denmark's Ørsted, the world's No. 1 offshore wind farm developer, on Wednesday reported fourth-quarter operating profit in line with preliminary 2022 numbers but said its offshore business faced challenges. 

"In a year with unusual market conditions, not least the very volatile energy prices and a substantial increase in inflation, we're happy to achieve a record-high operating profit for 2022," Chief Executive Mads Nipper said in a statement. 

Fourth-quarter earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) excluding new partnerships fell 19% to 6.70 billion Danish crowns ($979.5 million), the statement said. 

The company said it saw an unexpected decrease in its offshore business in the fourth quarter, primarily due to adverse impacts from hedges and delays at its Hornsea 2 project in the UK and Greater Changhua 1 & 2a project in Taiwan. 

Ørsted confirmed its 2023 forecasts for EBITDA, excluding new partnerships of 20-23 billion crowns, compared with 21.1 billion achieved last year and below the 24.2 billion crowns expected by analysts. 

($1 = 6.8403 Danish crowns) 

(Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen, editing by Terje Solsvik and Louise Heavens)