Otter Tail's wind energy segment loss melts in Q1 2012

May 8, 2012 - US firm Otter Tail Corp said on Monday its wind energy segment posted a first-quarter 2012 net loss of USD 700,000 (EUR 537,000), compared with a loss of USD 6.2 million a year ago.

The company, involved in the wind power, utility, health services and other sectors, improved its guidance for the wind segment. It now expects 2012 loss per share of between USD 0.10 and zero, compared to an earlier guidance of USD 0.15-0.00.

Wind power revenue for the quarter improved to USD 52.1 million from USD 47 million. The company's wind tower manufacturing arm DMI Industries Inc saw revenues from its US factories climb thanks to a 22.3% rise in the number of towers produced.

Wind energy backlog for 2012 was USD 114 million, compared with USD 134 million one year back, Otter Tail said.

Otter Tail's consolidated first-quarter net profit from continuing operation rose to USD 9.5 million from USD 5.2 million. Diluted earnings per share from continuing operations grew to USD 0.46 from USD 0.14. The company is to pay a dividend of USD 0.2975 per share on June 9.

Consolidated revenue from continuing operations went up to USD 277.6 million from USD 249.1 million.

(USD 1 = EUR 0.767)

Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!