In the third quarter of 2016, Vestas generated revenue of € 2,903 million, an increase of 37 per cent compared to the year-earlier period. EBIT before special items increased by € 201 million to € 433 million. The EBIT margin before special items was 14.9 per cent compared to 10.9 per cent in the third quarter of 2015 and the free cash flow amounted to € 155 million compared to € 158 million in the third quarter of 2015.
The intake of firm and unconditional wind turbine orders amounted to 1,769MW in the third quarter of 2016. The value of the wind turbine order backlog amounted to € 7.2 billion at 30 September 2016. In addition to the wind turbine order backlog, Vestas had service agreements with expected contractual future revenue of € 9.9 billion at the end of September 2016. Thus, the value of the combined backlog of wind turbine orders and service agreements stood at € 17.1 billion, an increase of € 0.7 billion compared to the year-earlier period. Vestas upgrades the 2016 guidance on revenue from minimum € 9.5 billion to € 10-10.5 billion, EBIT margin before special items from minimum 12.5 per cent to 13-14 per cent, and free cash flow from minimum € 800 million to minimum € 1,000 million. The upgrades are based mainly on improved delivery visibility for the remainder of the year. Vestas also adjusts 2016 guidance on total investments from approx € 500 million to approx € 600 million.