Ørsted targets to reinstate dividends for the financial year 2026, the world’s largest offshore wind developer said on Friday, signaling it may have turned a corner from the worst of the past two years that saw hefty losses, soaring costs, and the U.S. Administration’s hostility to offshore wind.
“We will not pay dividends for the financial year 2025, but it is our target to reinstate dividends for the financial year 2026,” Ørsted said in its annual report for 2025, published on Friday.
The company reiterated its 2026 guidance despite the setbacks of the past years, noting that the $9.35-billion rights issue and the completion of its divestment program have helped shore up finances and strengthen the balance sheet.
Ørsted’s shares in Copenhagen jumped on Friday following the release of the report.
The company today outlined the progress in its four strategic priorities—strengthen the balance sheet, deliver on its 8.1 GW offshore wind construction portfolio, ensure a disciplined approach to capital allocation, and improve competitiveness.
“We’ve strengthened our financial foundation and focused our business on offshore wind, and we now have financial flexibility to pursue attractive offshore wind opportunities in Europe and select markets in Asia Pacific,” Rasmus Errboe, Group President and CEO, said in a comment to the annual report for 2025.
Ørsted’s ongoing 8.1 GW construction program is set to bring its total installed offshore wind capacity to more than 18 GW by the end of 2027, Errboe said.
Earlier this week, Ørsted said it had agreed to sell its entire European onshore business to a Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) fund for $1.7 billion.
The sale marked the completion of the divestment program for Ørsted, which also sold 50% in its 2.9 GW Hornsea 3 Offshore Wind Farm to funds managed by Apollo Global Management in a transaction valued at $5.6 billion, and 55% of its 632-MW Greater Changhua 2 Offshore Wind Farm in the Taiwan Strait to Taiwan’s Cathay Life Insurance and its affiliate Cathay Power for about $790 million.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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