The Danish group

Wind power, Orsted collapses (-30%), drowned by Trump's policies

Orsted sinks on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange under the weight of the DKK 60 billion (USD 9.4 billion) capital increase, decided after the Trump administration derailed its US business and its business model in general

11 August 2025

Foto simbolica d’archivio - Parco eolico offshore di Middelgrunden, nel lago di Copenhagen (copyright Yann Arthus-Bertrand)

3' min read

Orsted sank on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange under the weight of the 60 billion kroner ($9.4 billion) capital increase, decided after the Trump administration derailed its business in the US and its business model in general. The stock of the world's leading developer of offshore wind farmsaround 4.40pm lost around 30% to 216 kroner.

Orsted explained that it had opted to raise new capital after 'recent decisive developments in the US' halted efforts to sell a stake in the Sunrise Wind project off the coast of New York.

The divestiture 'would have enabled the necessary strengthening of Orsted's capital structure in order to support its investment programme and business model'.

The Danish group actually leverages the sale of shares in its projects to share the cost and to finance the rest of its portfolio.

The Trump administration's decisions, however, have undermined the foundations of this strategy, even causing a devaluation of the assets involved. As is well known, Trump - a great supporter of fossil energies - also ran his election campaign on the promise to fight the offshore wind industry, claiming that it is too expensive and harms whales and birds. On his return to the White House, he suspended offshore wind licences and cut funding and subsidies for renewables in the federal budget 2026.

Moreover, his administration is introducing regulations that make the bureaucratic process for new installations even more complex.

The capital increase

The capital increase represents almost half of Orsted's market value, estimated at around 130 billion kroner at Friday's close. According to analysts at Jefferies, the fundraising will help reduce risks to the group's balance sheet, but the dilution for shareholders is 'substantial'.

Rbc experts commented in the early morning that the recapitalisation 'will be poorly received by the market' and that most of the capital increase will be consumed by the additional financing requirements for Sunrise Wind, a project that is already under considerable yield pressure.

Orsted said in a statement that the Danish state, which holds a 50.1 per cent shareholding, had committed to underwrite an equivalent share of the capital issue, thus retaining a majority.

A spokesman for Norway's Equinor, which owns 10 per cent of Orsted, said the group would 'evaluate the proposal'.

Shares not subscribed by existing shareholders or other investors will be fully guaranteed by Morgan Stanley & Co International, ensuring the completion of the transaction, Orsted added.

Last month, Equinor itself wrote down its US offshore wind portfolio by almost $1 billion, citing US tariffs and local market uncertainty.

Trump's tirade

In April, the Trump administration ordered Equinor to suspend development of a fully licensed wind farm off the coast of New York, causing a shockwave in the industry.

However, this decision was rescinded the following month, leaving all traders uncertain, given also the unpredictability of the US president.

The new Orsted strategy

Orsted said it would go ahead with plans to sell stakes in its Changhua 2 offshore wind farm in Taiwan and Hornsea 3 in the UK and that it has started the process of divesting its onshore wind assets in Europe, a deal expected to raise over 35 billion kroner.

CEO Errboe said that the funds raised in the capital increase will strengthen Orsted's financial structure and enable it to develop the 8.1 gigawatts of offshore wind projects currently under construction by 2027.

With Orsted's increased stake in Sunrise Wind compared to initial plans and the impact of US tariffs,

the group now plans 145 billion kronor in medium-term investments, compared to a previous estimate of 130 billion for the period 2025-2027. The capital increase will be submitted to shareholders for approval at a shareholders' meeting called for 5 September.

Separately, the group indicated that its Ebitda increased to 15.5 billion kronor in the first half year from 14.1 billion.

Excluding new partnerships and cancellations the increase was 9% year-on-year to 13.9 billion kroner. Earnings from offshore sites increased by 1.1 billion to 12.5 billion. Profit for the period rose to 8.2 billion from 931 million in the same period last year. Roce was 7.5% from -12.4%. Orsted maintained its full-year forecast of Ebitda in the range of 25 to 28 billion kronor and gross capital expenditure of 50 to 54 billion kronor.