By Stine Jacobsen
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -Orsted Chief Executive Mads Nipper will step down to be replaced by company insider Rasmus Errboe, the Danish renewable energy company said on Friday as it seeks to arrest an 83% slump in its share price since its 2021 peak.
The company’s woes reflect the changing fortunes of wind power globally as soaring costs, delays and limited supply chain investment prompt investors to reassess the speed of energy transition.
“The impacts on our business of the increasingly challenging situation in the offshore wind industry … mean that our focus has shifted,” Orsted Chair Lene Skole said in a statement.
“Therefore, the board has today agreed with Mads Nipper that it’s the right time for him to step down.”
The former oil and gas company has taken big writedowns in recent years as it has struggled with soaring costs and delays.
Once a green investor favourite, Orsted’s market value stood at $15.1 billion at Thursday’s close, a far cry from its peak of $93.9 billion in January 2021, LSEG data shows.
Errboe, the deputy CEO and chief commercial officer, will take the helm from Feb. 1, an Orsted statement said.
He has previously been interim finance chief and head of the company’s Europe region. He was appointed deputy CEO last March as part of Orsted’s new business plan, including the trimming of investment and capacity targets.
The former oil and gas company that began with European investments had expanded into the U.S. offshore wind market but has been forced to book several impairment charges, blaming the lack of an established supply chain.
Further complicating Orsted’s ambitions in the United States, U.S. President Donald Trump has suspended federal offshore wind leasing pending an environmental and economic review.
(Reporting by Stine JacobsenEditing by Terje Solsvik and David Goodman)
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