quotedcleantech

All indices we track recorded falls during October, with poor performances by major blue chips such as EDP Renovables proving a drag on the renewable energy focused indices. The renewable energy operators have been hit by a reversal in sentiment in the solar sector, where there are concerns that the favourable subsidy regime which was enjoyed by German players may not continue in the wake of the country’s elections. For the same reason, the solar manufacturing sector, which performed strongly during September, suffered a bout of profit taking.

September was a strong month for cleantech stocks with all the indices we track chalking up gains. Sentiment towards the solar sector has improved: the eurodenominated SOLEX index saw a double digit rise in its value.

... and $400m flotation of A123Systems

Shares in Suez Environnement made healthy gains during September, after the NYSE Euronext-listed water and waste management giant announced steady interim results at the end of August. Suez reported that revenues for the first half of 2009 were down 1.2% at €5.9 billion with H1 2009 EBITDA coming in at €951 million, a 4.2% decrease compared with H1 2008. Chief executive officer Jean-Louis Chaussade said the results proved the group’s “adaptability and financial solidity” amid a difficult economic climate.

Solar stocks suffer

European cleantech companies reported a mixed batch of results during August. Denmark’s Vestas Wind Systems (VWS:DC) announced that it had shipped 618 wind turbines in the second quarter of 2009, representing a decrease of 12% over Q2 2008, but managed to report an increase in Q2 revenues of 11% to €1.2 billion. However, the EBIT was down 15% – partly as a result of severance payments associated with redundancies in the UK and Denmark. Despite over 1,500 redundancies, the firm increased its total workforce by 22% year-on-year, to 21,153 people, as a result of new factories in the US and China.