Danish offshore wind giant Orsted said its operating performance in the first half of 2026 has increased its appetite for growth, although profits were again dented by impairments resulting from increases in long-dated interest rates and the imposition of trade tariffs in the US.
Orsted posted an 8% increase in benchmark earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) compared with the same period last year.
First-half Ebitda of DKr15bn ($2.3bn) was DKr1.1bn higher than in 2025.
But a net profit of DKr 3.3bn was down from DKr 8.2bn in first half of 2025 and net profit for the second quarter was DKr687m, down from DKr 3.4bn in the same quarter last year.
This drop was partly a reflection of exceptional gains from divestments last year, but also reflected non-cash impairment losses this year.
These impairment losses had a negative effect of DKr2.5 billion in the first half of 2026, concentrated almost entirely in offshore wind.
On the other hand, Orsted generated 11.2TWh of electricity in its offshore business, 23% more than in the same period last year.
“Our renewable assets have produced more renewable energy in the first half of 2026 than ever before, and we remain on track to deliver on our financial guidance for the year,” said CEO Rasmus Errboe.
“With the measures we’ve taken during the last 18 months, we have the necessary robustness to pursue new, value-creating opportunities within offshore wind, while also reinstating a dividend payout to our shareholders as planned.”
Errboe underlined this appetite for growth, despite Orsted’s failure to obtain new projects in Denmark’s recent offshore wind auction.
“We see ourselves as a growth company and we expect to keep growing our business further and cement our position as the global leader in offshore wind.
“When we decide to participate in a tender, we apply a disciplined approach prioritising value over volume,” he told reporters today (Thursday).
“This was also the case in the recent tender in Denmark. With our bid, we believe we had the right balance between value and risk.
“We obviously participate in tenders to win and we continue to be optimistic about capturing our share of the growth opportunities emerging in several of our core markets during the next 12 to 18 months.”
He highlighted offshore wind tenders in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, the UK and Taiwan over the next 12 months as bidding opportunities for the company.
“Overall, we see a healthy convergence to frameworks with regularised, regulated earnings and CfDs across all markets. so we keep working hard… with a focus on, on offshore wind and our core markets in Europe and also select markets in (Asia-Pacific).”
Impairments warning
Errboe said the Revolution Wind project in the US is continuing to ramp up production with the commissioning of turbines.
He described the project as more than 95% complete and on track towards full commercial operations in the second half of 2026.
Errboe also described “solid progress” on Sunrise Wind, including installation of turbine foundations, array cables and turbines.
But, in its earnings statement, Orsted also warned that regulatory uncertainty in the US could still force the company to take stronger action in that market.
“Changes in the US regulatory environment can materially and further adversely affect the value of our US activities and could potentially lead us to cease development, which would result in further impairments and costs,” the company stated.
“Further adverse developments could lead us to cease development of or reconfigure projects currently under development. Besides impairing the capitalised value of these projects, ceasing to develop projects could lead to compensation to suppliers or other stakeholders for cancelling contracts.”
Despite these risks, Orsted said it remains on track to achieve a return on capital employed (ROCE) of 11 % for 2026–2027 and above 13% for 2028–2030.
The company said it is on track to deliver 2026 financial guidance of Ebitda above DKr28bn.