The Danish state continues to reap the benefit of investment in wind farms, with Ørsted posting a 14% profit increase for the first nine months of 2018.
Despite lower average wind speeds in some markets, earnings from offshore wind farms in operation increased by 32%. As a result, operating profit rose to DKK10.8bn (£1.28bn).
The company said it expects full year operating profit to be significantly higher than last year’s DKK22.5bn (£2.66bn), with return on capital employed at 23% versus 15% last year.
Ørsted said earnings in its gas and LNG businesses are also higher than expected.
Looking forward, the company’s push into the US market should deliver “strong and long-term growth”, according to CEO and president, Henrik Poulsen.
The sale of 50% of the Hornsea 1 wind farm will also net the company around £4.5bn when the transaction completes in the coming weeks.
The Danish government owns the majority (50.1%) of Ørsted shares.
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