The technology from Siemens Energy – whether for gas transmission or for generating wind power – is in demand like never before. But the group reports a bitter loss again. CEO Bruch explains on ntv how he wants to solve the problems of the company and the entire wind power industry.
Despite an excellent order situation with orders worth billions in all areas of the energy technology offered by the group, Siemens Energy is again in the red for the past quarter. The group made a loss of 533 million euros in the period from April to June, as the company announced. In the same quarter of the previous year, the minus was still 307 million euros. The reasons for this were again losses at the Spanish wind energy subsidiary Siemens Gamesa, but also burdens from the restructuring of the business in Russia.
CEO Christian Bruch spoke of a “very ambivalent” picture. “We’ve been successful in winning new business across all businesses,” Bruch told ntv. The energy industry is stable even in uncertain times like these. “The market is growing.” In particular, the business with gas and the associated technology for transmission and compression is going “very, very well”. The order backlog has grown to a record volume of more than 90 billion euros across all group divisions.
However, Siemens Energy has to post high losses due to the restructuring of the Russian business. Mainly in connection with this restructuring, the special effects in the quarter amounted to minus 298 million euros. According to Bruch, the group wants to “completely process” the Russian business in the current year. From 2023 no further influences are to be expected. “For us, and we show that in the numbers, it’s a painful cut,” said Bruch.
Siemens has stopped new business in Russia, but continues to support some existing customers such as the Gazprom Group and its turbines for the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline. Siemens Energy still needs “import papers” from Gazprom. He cannot say when the turbine can be shipped.
The Spanish subsidiary Siemens Gamesa also continues to cause high losses in the balance sheet. Siemens Energy announced in May that it would take over the wind turbine manufacturer completely, integrate it “completely” and take it off the stock exchange. Siemens Gamesa reported falling sales and a quarterly loss of 446 million euros last week. The management of the Spanish subsidiary must now “consistently” implement the restructuring plan, according to Bruch.
However, solving the home-made problems at Gamesa is not enough, Bruch explained to ntv. In addition, the wind industry must “basically consider what can be done together to reduce costs”. Because not only Siemens Gamesa, but none of the manufacturers in the market currently manage to earn money with the construction of wind turbines. In addition, the general conditions on the customer side would have to change. “Inflation must be reflected, also in the prices,” demanded Bruch. “You have to tackle all three issues if you want to make wind successful. In my opinion, that’s also possible in the medium term.”
