Christian Bruch, the Chief Executive Officer of Siemens Energy, stated on Tuesday that activist investor Ananym Capital's proposal for the company to spin off its loss-making wind turbine division holds merit, but he added that the unit must first achieve operational stability and return to profitability.
US-based Ananym Capital said last December that it had taken a stake in Siemens Energy and had requested management to conduct a strategic review of its wind power unit, Siemens Gamesa. The investor claimed the division could be worth up to $10 billion in the future and that a spin-off could potentially boost investor returns by 60%.
"That is a very valid question, and it's one I ask myself regularly," said Christian Bruch, adding that the business needs a clear path toward achieving a double-digit profit margin.
"At this stage, however, the absolute priority is to stabilize the business and make it profitable," he emphasized. "Discussing a spin-off is premature until these goals are met."
Siemens Gamesa reported an operating loss of 1.36 billion euros (approximately $1.6 billion) in fiscal 2025. It is currently projected to reach breakeven this year and achieve an operating margin of 3% to 5% by 2028.
Bruch pointed out that the offshore wind business has the potential to replicate the successful turnaround of Siemens Energy's grid business, whose profit margin surged from 3.6% in 2022 to 15.8% in 2025, contributing to a near 11-fold increase in the parent company's share price over the past two years.
"Looking back to 2020, no one had a positive outlook on the grid business; nobody believed it would become the company's star performer in terms of profit growth. Yet, just four years later, it achieved a complete reversal," Bruch stated.
"Can the offshore wind business achieve a similar reversal? The answer is yes. However, at the moment, I don't see it yet. That is why I believe the crucial issue is one of timing and conditions."
Bruch also revealed that, as the United States embarks on a massive data center construction boom to meet the power demands of artificial intelligence technology, Siemens Energy plans to invest $1 billion to expand production capacity for US power grid components and gas turbine parts.