MW This wind power company just took a $1.7 billion write-down - and that excludes Trump executive order impact

By Steve Goldstein

Orsted blames rising interest rates and project delays

Shares of Orsted fell as much as 18% on Tuesday after announcing a 12.1 billion Danish kroner ($1.7 billion) write-down that the Danish wind power company said didn't include the impact of an executive order signed by President Donald Trump.

Orsted (DK:ORSTED) took a 4.3 billion kroner write-down from the rise in long-dated U.S. interest rates BX:TMUBMUSD10Y, a 3.5 billion kroner hit from the reduced valuation of its seabed leases off the coasts of New Jersey, Maryland and Delaware, and a 4.3 billion kroner impairment on delayed commissioning and higher-than-expected project costs for Sunrise Wind, a project 30 miles east of Long Island's Montauk Point.

"The Sunrise Wind impairment is particularly disappointing as it further exemplifies the execution risks within U.S. offshore wind and will be unhelpful for the case for U.S. offshore wind development," said analysts at Jefferies.

Analysts at JPMorgan said the announced impairments were three times more than they expected from the move in bond yields alone.

The company said the write-down did not include any impact from Trump's order signed on Monday that paused all federal leasing and permitting for both onshore and offshore wind projects.

"We are in the process of reviewing it to assess the impact of our portfolio," said CEO Mads Nipper on a call with analysts.

Vestas Wind Systems (DK:VWS), a turbine maker, saw its stock fall 3%.

The Global X Wind Energy ETF WNDY, whose top two holdings are Vestas and Orsted, has dropped 27% since early October.

-Steve Goldstein

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January 21, 2025 05:02 ET (10:02 GMT)

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