Siemens Gamesa posts first-quarter sales rise, margins still under pressure

MADRID (Reuters) - Siemens Gamesa on Tuesday reported a 6 percent rise in sales for its first quarter to December 31 although its margins remained under pressure and shares in the wind turbine maker fell.

Revenue rose to 2.26 billion euros from 2.13 billion a year earlier.

Its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margin for the October-December quarter fell to 6.1 percent from 6.3 percent.

The company, formed by a merger between Spain's Gamesa and the wind power business of Siemens, retained its guidance for an EBIT margin of 7 to 8.5 percent for the full year.

Wind businesses around the world have come under pressure as governments phase out subsidies and move towards more competitive contract tenders.

Siemens Gamesa, which vies with Denmark's Vestas to lead the global wind turbine sector, said its offshore and wind service businesses drove revenue growth, while its onshore performance lagged.

Profitability was also dragged down by pricing on a backlog of orders struck in 2018. The company said in November that average selling prices had fallen by 9 percent.

($1 = 0.8743 euros)

(Reporting by Isla Binnie; additional reporting by Jose Elias Rodriguez; editing by Jason Neely)