Ørsted’s credit rating outlook revised to negative on US offshore woes

Fitch Ratings on Friday changed the outlook for Danish clean energy company Ørsted A/S (CPH:ORSTED) from stable to negative due to the adverse developments in its US offshore wind projects, including disproportionate cancellation fees related to Ocean Wind 1.

The rating agency affirmed the company's long-term issuer default rating at BBB+. It expects that in the coming months the Danish developer will clarify its medium-to-long term strategic goals and specific measures to safeguard its net leverage.

Together with reporting third-quarter results on Wednesday, Ørsted announced a decision to cease development of the 1,100-MW Ocean Wind 1 and 1,148-MW Ocean Wind 2 offshore wind projects.

The problems with US offshore have caused the company to book an impairment charge of DKK 28.4 billion (USD 4.06bn/EUR 3.81bn), an increase from its preliminary estimate of DKK 16 billion in September.

Fitch said that Ocean Wind 1’s cancellation led to unexpectedly high supply-related cancellation fees, estimated by the developer at DKK 15 billion-18 billion, or around EUR 2 million per MW, to be incurred mainly in 2024.

On Thursday, S&P Global Ratings placed Ørsted on credit watch negative because of “the severity of the loss of value relating to US offshore projects and the project management issues this reveals.”

(DKK 1 = USD 0.143/EUR 0.134)

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