Siemens Energy plunges into red as turbine woes bite

FRANKFURT, Germany, Aug 7 (AFP): Siemens Energy reported a record third-quarter net loss Monday after taking a 1.6-billion euro ($1.7 billion) hit to fix technical problems with its onshore wind turbines.
The group had warned in June that quality issues at its troubled Siemens Gamesa wind unit were worse than previously thought, sending its share plunging more than 30 per cent.
After initially estimating the repair cost at more than a billion euros, Siemens Energy announced a 1.6-billion-euro charge to resolve the issues affecting "certain rotor blades and main bearings in the 4.X and 5.X platforms".
The charge weighed heavily on the company's overall performance in its fiscal third quarter, which slumped to a net loss of 2.9 billion euros compared with a loss of 564 million euros over the same period a year earlier.
The result was also dragged lower by extra charges of 600 million euros in its offshore wind business, which has been hit by "higher product costs" and difficulties ramping up capacity.