Many shares slide, but big gains enjoyed by some
April was another mixed month for the cleantech sector in Europe, with a few shares seeing large gains while others floundered.
Two major wind power businesses did very well. Vestas Wind Systems, the Danish firm that is the world’s largest manufacturer of wind turbines, saw its shares increase by more than 14% during April as it prepares to expand in the US market (see page 3). Meanwhile, Belgium’s Hansen Transmissions – the leading supplier of gearboxes for wind turbines globally – saw confidence in its shares grow following the appointment of a new chief executive officer in late March. The London-listed company’s shares improved 10.7% to 100.2p each during April.
But there were poor performances in the wind sector too. Vestas’ rival, Gamesa Corporacion Tecnologica, and wind power producer, Iberdrola Renovables, both Spanish companies, recorded falls in their shares of 8.4% and 5% respectively, although Gamesa’s share price had produced a double-digit gain during March.
Shares in several of Germany’s solar cell/module manufacturers and installers fell during April. However, Solar Millennium – one of the country’s smaller solar energy players – saw its share price increase by 17.6%. The company, which constructs solar thermal power plants, announced it had paid back a €30 million corporate bond out of earnings from operations and funds released from the sale of stakes in solar plants it has built.
The worst performances in the solar sector were put in by Norway’s Renewable Energy Corporation (down 27.1%) and Spain’s Solaria Energia y Medio Ambiente (down 14.6%). REC, which secured a refinancing package in March, reported an operating loss for its first quarter, partly as a result of reduced sales prices, while the firm also announced a rights issue.
In the water sector shares in Euronext-listed Suez Environnement and Veolia Environnement slid 4.3% and 7.5% respectively, but one smaller Austrian rival enjoyed a strong rise. Water technology business BWT saw its shares increase 13.6% in April as it confirmed robust results for 2009 (see page 3).
Among other small caps, AIM-quoted Acta stood out. The Italian firm’s shares surged 170% during April on news of positive test results of a fuel enrichment system (see page 3).
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