Gamesa is in a sound position to address the future

At its Shareholders’ Meeting in Zamudio (Bilbao) today, Gamesa approved the financial statements and conduct of business for 2012.

Gamesa Chairman Ignacio Martín provided shareholders an overview of the company’s results in 2012 and presented the outlook for 2013.

In his presentation, he underlined the very complex commitment he made one year ago: to lay the foundations for overcoming the adverse economic situation that placed the entire sector-not just Gamesa-in an uncertain situation going forward. The new 2013-2015 Business Plan, presented in October 2012, was the principal tool for weathering this difficult situation.

Mr Martín noted that, despite operating in a complicated economic environment and a highly-competitive market, the company attained its annual guidance in terms of recurring revenues.

Sales (2,119 MWe) exceeded guidance (2,000 MWe), and the group’s normalised EBIT was positive (5 million euro). Management in the year focused on strict control of debt and working capital, which led to net interest-bearing debt of 495 million euro and a working capital-to-sales ratio of 16%.

Net income in 2012 was affected by the implementation of the Business Plan, which required “undertaking measures and making decisions that impacted the balance sheet”, said Mr Martín. However, he underlined that “the bulk of those measures did not involve a cash outflow and they adapted our balance sheet to reality in terms of the projections of the business plan and market circumstances”.

Realistic plan

Mr Martín highlighted that, after the balance sheet adjustments, the company is in “a sound financial position with equity of more than 1 billion euro, which is enough to comfortably implement the business plan, and with appropriate leverage to address a promising future”.

He also told shareholders “the plan is realistic, and the advances achieved since its roll-out have been well-received by the markets. Since the plan’s presentation, the share price has appreciated notably-a sign that we are on the right track”.

According to Mr Martín, although global financial, economic and regulatory expectations cannot ensure exceptional short-term growth in sales, Gamesa maintains the guidance advanced to the market six months ago, focusing on:

• Commercial diversification strategy and surge by emerging markets. The 1,657 MW of firm orders at the end of 2012 evidence the positive results of this strategy despite the overall decline in demand.
• In emerging markets, which will drive growth in wind power installations in the next three years, Gamesa has a sound position supported by good local knowledge and its experience in executing projects at all points in the value chain.
• Developing the product line-up: evolution of our platforms towards higher capacity, synergies with the offshore multi-MW platform, the production of larger blades and, in short, the improvement in the returns provided by our products in all wind conditions are all factors that will determine our customers’ decisions.
• Operation and maintenance services. This business expands the contribution by value-added higher-margin products which benefit both the customer and Gamesa.
• A programme for continuous improvement in costs, based on improvements in designs and manufacturing processes and on strategic agreements with key suppliers.

“Gamesa is not just a big company-it’s a great company. Rest assured that Gamesa’s management team is fully committed to turning the accumulated knowledge and experience into an attractive value proposition for our shareholders. That is where we will focus all our efforts, as a means of rewarding your trust,” Ignacio Martín told the shareholders.

Gamesa’s chairman also publicly acknowledged the commitment and hard work by all the people in Gamesa, from the Board of Directors and management team to each and every employee.

Mr Martín also highlighted Gamesa’s insistence on ethical standards and its commitment to the environment, based on a corporate social responsibility strategy that emphasises integrity, workplace health and safety, responsible procurement, and respect for human rights and labour relations.