Vestas Inks Record U.S., China & Spanish Contracts

Wind turbine maker Vestas has secured three turbine orders to bring this year's total intake to 1,806 megawatts (MW), the highest ever in a first quarter and continuing a strong trend from 2015.

The Danish company is market leader in an industry benefiting from a new focus on renewable energy generation, encouraged by the Paris global climate summit last year, as well as the extension of a key U.S. tax credit.

"We still expect an order intake of 7,500 MW this year, but the solid start to the year creates a much stronger foundation for positive surprises in the remainder of the year," Sydbank (SYDB.CO) analyst Jacob Pedersen said in a note to clients on Friday.

Last year Vestas received orders for 1,750 MW in the first quarter, including 418 MW of smaller orders which are not disclosed continuously but in the quarterly earnings report. Vestas's first-quarter report is expected on April 29.

Vestas said late on Thursday it had received a 200 MW contract in the United States as well as 48 MW and 27 MW orders in China and Spain respectively. In February the company received a 1,000 MW order in Norway.

Vestas received orders to build turbines with a total capacity of 8,943 megawatts (MW) last year, beating its previous record of 8,673 MW in 2010.

"We see support for continued high order intake in 2016, which seems to be a key concern in the market," Danske Bank said in a note.

Vestas is the world's largest wind turbine maker but would be pushed off that pedestal if rivals Siemens (SIEMENS.NS) and Gamesa go through with a planned merger.

Reporting by Teis Jensen