MADRID (AFP) — Spanish wind turbine maker Gamesa, a sector leader, said on Tuesday its net profits soared during the first-half at a time when record high oil prices are fuelling interest in alternative energy sources.
The company posted a comparable net profit of 93 million euros (146 million US dollars) during the first six months, a 69 percent increase on a directly comparable basis to the same time last year while pro-form first-half core earnings rose 43 percent to 235 million euros.
The results do not take into account the activity of Gamesa's solar energy unit Solar which it sold to US private equity firm First Reserve in February for 261 million euros and the gains made with this operation.
When extraordinary gains from this operation are taken into account, net profit hit 198 million euros, a 314 percent increase over the same time last year, it said in a statement.
Sales rose in the first-half 34 percent to 1.88 billion euros.
In June the company signed a 6.3-billion-euro (9.7-billion-euro) contract with a subsidiary of Spanish electricity generator Iberdrola to provide turbines for the company's wind parks in Europe, Mexico and the United States.
Gamesa employs about 3,700 people across Europe, the United States, China and the Dominican Republic.
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