RPT-INTERVIEW-Nordex CEO cautions more projects may face delays

(Repeats to additional Reuters clients)

HAMBURG, Feb 12 (Reuters) - German wind turbine maker Nordex (NDXGk.DE) is cautious that more of its turbine projects could face delays, its chief executive told Reuters on Tuesday, although he confirmed the company's guidance.

There was a greater risk that projects could be delayed in future and this could have an effect of around 100-200 million euros on the company's 2008 sales, Thomas Richterich said in an interview.

The CEO said he still expected Nordex to grow at a rate of 50 percent this year.

Nordex, which failed to meet its own targets last year due to project delays, is aiming to reach sales of 1 billion euros ($1.45 billion) in 2008 and expects profitability to improve.

By 2011, Nordex plans for sales to reach up to 4 billion euros and for the operating margin to rise to up to 12 percent, Richterich said.

On Friday, Nordex reported preliminary full-year 2007 results, which showed earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) rising 140 percent to 40 million euros, which was below the company's target of 46 million euros.

Sales grew 45 percent to 747 million euros, missing the expected range of 760-770 million euros.

Poor weather conditions had delayed the completion of wind turbine parks in Italy, the company had said earlier.

The CEO declined to give an update on the plans of major shareholders Goldman Sachs (GS.N) and CMP Capital, which had mandated an investment bank to check a possible sale of their stock. The shareholder structure had not changed, he said. (Reporting by Jan Schwartz)