German wind turbine maker Nordex is mulling paying a dividend for the first time since listing on the stock exchange as part of efforts to create a long-term investor base, its chief financial officer told a German newspaper.
"We will think about it but I cannot already today promise a dividend," Bernard Schaeferbarthold told Boersen-Zeitung newspaper in an interview published on Saturday.
Nordex, which is part-owned by Germany's richest woman Susanne Klatten, wants a stable base of long-term investors, Schaeferbarthold said.
"Dividends could help us in that regard," he said.
Nordex has not paid a dividend since it floated on the stock exchange in 2001. Schaeferbarthold has previously said the company planned to decide by 2017 whether to start paying dividends or continue investing profits in product development.
The company raised its sales forecast last month for the second time this year on strong demand for wind turbines in the United States and Europe. Nordex also posted a stronger-than-expected operating profit for the third quarter.
In raising the forecast, the company said it expected sales of 1.65-1.75 billion euros ($2.1-2.2 billion) in 2014, up from a previous target range of 1.5-1.6 billion.
Schaeferbarthold told Boersen-Zeitung that Nordex aimed to reach sales of around 2 billion euros by 2017.
It also hopes to achieve a sustainable EBIT margin of 7-8 percent, compared with a target of 4.5-5 percent this year.
Schaeferbarthold said he would not exclude acquisitions but it was too early to be specific.
"We are examining whether we should expand our business model, setting it on a broader base," he said.
(Reporting by Jonathan Gould; Editing by Susan Fenton)
($1 = 0.8026 euros)