Mixed Greens: Vestas appoints new CEO, prepares for ‘new phase’

Danish wind power company Vestas has appointed a new chief executive to lead the compay into what it is describing as a “new phase” for the embattled company, after years of financial turmoil. The world’s second-largest wind turbine maker, which is set to complete a two-year cost cutting scheme, announced Wednesday it had appointed Anders Runevad of Sweden as its new CEO. The 53-year-old former director at telecom giant Ericsson will take over the reins on September 1, replacing Ditlev Engel, Vestas’ CEO since 2005 . Until Runevad steps in, Vestas will be run by CFO Marika Fredriksson.

Once a star of the wind power industry, Vestas has been hit by a combination of the EU recession, falling subsidies, poor management and low-cost competition from China. As the New York Times reports, the company failed to anticipate a downturn in the global wind  energy market after the boom of the mid-2000s. Analysts say it was also slower than rivals like General Electric and Siemens to automate production and simplify its product line, and has failed to capitalise on the trend toward offshore wind farms.

According to Deutsche Welle, draconian restructuring endeavors and the loss of its world number-one ranking to America’s General Electric have led to Vestas incurring hefty losses. In the April to June quarter, the company reported a net loss of 62 million euros, compared to just minus eight million euros in the same period a year earlier. Sales dropped by 26 per cent to 1.18 billion euros. So far, investors appear to have responded positively to the management change, sending Vestas shares up by 11.2 per cent in early trading at the Copenhagen Stock Exchange.

Panasonic taps into EV business

Japanese electronics giant Panasonic has announced plans to expand its lithium-ion battery business, as part of a turnaround strategy targeting the auto sector, following the company’s near-record net loss last year. Panasonic  will invest at least ¥20 billion in the year to March to boost production of both small and large lithium-ion batteries for automakers, according to unnamed company sources  – a relatively small but noteworthy amount, given that the battery business lost money in the last financial year. Surces also Panasonic plans to build an additional production line for small batteries at a facility in Japan’s Osaka area, and re-start another line at a separate Osaka plant. It is also constructing a new production line at its Kasai factory, to build larger lithium-ion batteries. Operations are scheduled to begin there next spring.

Investec to sell Australian wind project

Investment bank Investec is seeking buyers for a wind farm estimated to cost $900 million to build, the Associated Press reports. “If I could divest it at a reasonable price, I would immediately,” Investec Australia’s Acting Chief Executive Ciaran Whelan told AP in a phone interview, referring to the bank’s ownership of development rights to the Hornsdale wind project in South Australia state.   “Our hope is to exit it at some stage, and our project finance team will look for opportunities to do so,” Whelan added Investec Australia’s Head of Project and Infrastructure Investment Mark Schneider was among 50 layoffs that have occurred over the past week as the South African bank seeks to return its Australian unit to profitability.