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Vestas and the wind power industry continued to grow in 2015

Established in 1979 the company Vestas is the market leader in wind power energy production with its global presence in 75 countries and 74 GW installed to date 56,860 wind turbines on six continents, which generate more than 145 million MWh of electricity per year, have over 80 million Europeans’ residential electricity consumption and allow to reduce carbon emissions per year by more than 75 million tonnes of CO2.

2015 has been for Vestas a year characterised by growth and improved financial results. According to the Company´s Annual Report in 2015the financial performance, both revenue and EBIT margin came out at strong levels in 2015 and reached EUR 8.4 billion and 10.2 percent (against EUR6.91 billion and 8.1 percent in 2014) respectively.

In 2015 the Company reached the highest ever net profit which amounted to EUR 685 million. Respected to 2014 the revenue of the Company increased by 22 percent (from EUR 6.91 billion in 2014 to EUR 8.4 billion in 2015) and the net profit by 74% (from EUR 293 million in 2014 to 685 million in 2015). The revenue and the net profit increase were for the majority driven by an increase in volumes, better average project margins, and growth in the service business. The revenue was also supported by positive currency developments with an effect of approximately EUR 500 million primarily driven by the EUR/ USD development. EMEA (Europe, Middle East & Africa) accounted for 52 percent of annual revenue, while Americas and Asia Pacific accounted for 41 and 7 percent, respectively.
Vestas’ installed capacity increased from 66 GW in 2014 to 74 GW in 2015 – an increase of 12 percent.
2015 has been characterised by the highest ever order intake (8,943 MW up to 37 percent year-on- year) across 34 countries on five continents and the second highest level ever combined turbine and service order backlog (EUR 6.8 billion). In particular, the order intake has grown significantly in three strategic focus markets, Brazil, India, and China. All regions delivered a general growth.

Compared to 2014 the orders have grown by 58 percent in Americas, by 9 percent in EMEA, by 150 percent in Asia and Pacific.
The revenue from sale of wind turbines increased by 23 percent to EUR 7,285 million compared to EUR 5,946 million in 2014 which was driven by the growth in deliveries to customers as well as positive impacts from currency rate developments of approximately EUR 450 million, mainly attributable to the EUR/USD development.

The Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) reached a very high level of 117 percent respected to 35 percent in 2014.
Research and development costs in 2015 amounted to EUR 211 million which is in line with EUR 213 million in 2014.

Distribution costs amounted to EUR 186m, which was EUR 28m higher than in 2014. The increase was driven by the growth in deliveries.
Administration costs 2015 administration costs were maintained at EUR 248m, equivalent to the level in 2014, despite a growth in revenue of 22 percent, and constituted 2.9 percent of revenue in 2015 compared to 3.6 percent in 2014.
2015 was a positive year for the wind power industry with an increase in onshore installations of 21 percent to 58 GW compared to 2014. The signs for renewables and the wind power industry are positive, so that Vestas finds itself well positioned to reap the benefits from these developments.
In terms of patent activity Vestas company showed substantial performance in 2015. Our estimates show that the company published over 500 patent documents in the field of industrial wind power, which is almost 12% of the total amount of patent documents found in the major patent offices of the world on this topic. In the total amount of patent applications, the company represents a share of over 11%. The majority of patent documents relate to blades, control systems as well as maintenance and repair of wind turbines. In average patent applications comprise 65% of all patent documents for this year, while the rest approximately 35% are patents granted in different countries. MHI Vestas Offshore Wind, joint venture of Vestas and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries also demonstrates high innovation activity.