Bremen, December 18, 2019. Due to significant weather-related construction delays, it is currently highly probable that a wind farm of Energiekontor AG, which is decisive for the level of consolidated EBT 2019 and is still under construction, can no longer be completed and commissioned on schedule by the end of 2019. Although every effort will continue to be made to complete the wind farm, there is a very high probability that the Group EBT of around EUR 10 million forecasted for 2019 will therefore not be achieved and, from today's perspective, will in all probability only be in the lower single-digit million euro range. The pro rata earnings contribution not realized due to the construction delay is thus postponed until next year and increases the Group EBT 2020.
Supplementary text:
When implementing a wind farm project, postponements are part of day-to-day business. The windy fourth quarter is particularly susceptible to this.
The wind farm Waldfeucht, located in North Rhine-Westphalia west of Heinsberg not far from the Dutch border, is currently under construction. Originally, the three Nordex wind turbines, each with an output of 4.5 MW per year and an expected yield of around 35 million kilowatt hours, were expected to be commissioned in December 2019. In recent weeks, high wind speeds with strong gusts have ensured that work at the site could not be carried out as planned and that delays occurred as a result. Despite countermeasures such as the request for additional erection cranes and the introduction of a three-shift operation, the prospects for completion by the end of the year have become even gloomier. For the next few days, difficult wind conditions are expected at the Waldfeucht site, which will lead to further delays.
From today's perspective, the wind farm is therefore not expected to be fully commissioned until January 2020. The earnings contribution planned for 2019 will thus be postponed until the first quarter of 2020.