Annual rank38
Denmark · Industrials
NKT
Designs, manufactures and markets high-, medium- and low-voltage power cables and provides cable services.
FY2022–FY2025
FY2022–FY2025
FY2022–FY2025
current context only
Company profile
Cable systems engineered from the factory floor to the seabed
NKT is a pure-play power-cable group: it designs and manufactures high-, medium- and low-voltage cables, joins them with accessories, installs large offshore and onshore systems and services operating links. Its complete-solution model connects material and system design to factory testing, route preparation, laying, burial, jointing, monitoring and repair, reducing interface risk across stages.
Products and technology
One portfolio spans building wire to 640 kV transmission
NKT's range begins with building wire and low-voltage control, fire-performance and telecom-energy cables, then moves through medium-voltage distribution to AC and DC transmission systems on land and below the sea. At the high end, its qualified 640 kV extruded HVDC system is designed to transmit up to 3 GW; a pair could carry enough power for about three million households. In August 2026, NKT also qualified a 525 kV extruded XLPE subsea HVDC system for continuous operation up to 90 C. NKT attributes the thermal performance to redesigned semiconductive layers and a newly qualified material; it says the higher-temperature capability may support higher capacity, lower material use or system efficiency depending on project requirements, but disclosed no project-specific uplift or customer order.
- Explore the 525 kV HVDC 90 C system Qualified temperature range, transmission flexibility and resource-intensity claims
- Navigate the cable portfolio High-, medium- and low-voltage systems, accessories and services
- Open the transmission range Onshore and offshore high-voltage cable solutions
- Inspect the 640 kV system Qualified extruded HVDC technology rated for up to 3 GW
- Map factories to products European plants for HV, MV, LV cables and accessories
Production and installation
A 200-metre tower feeds vessels built around the cable
Karlskrona applies insulation while long cable lengths hang vertically to cool. NKT Crown, the 200-metre third extrusion tower, a new test centre and harbour are scheduled to join the expanded site in 2027; they are still being built. At sea, NKT Victoria integrates route work, laying, jointing and burial. Eleonora is the next vessel under construction: three turntables and more than 23,000 tonnes of planned cable capacity are intended to let it carry three power cables for large 525 kV projects.
- Enter the Karlskrona expansion Extrusion, cooling, testing, harbour works and the 2027 boundary
- Follow the complete solution R&D, engineering, production, testing, installation and service
- Trace an offshore installation Survey, route preparation, laying, burial, pull-in and final testing
- ▶ VideoWatch NKT Victoria at work Official English film of the operating cable-laying vessel
- ▶ VideoExplore Eleonora in 360 degrees Official animation of the planned three-turntable vessel
Projects and lifecycle
Delivery continues after the cable enters service
Caithness-Moray is completed evidence of the turnkey chain: NKT supplied a 160 km, 320 kV HVDC on- and offshore system, and Victoria made its first installation voyage on the link. In 2025, NKT manufactured and jointed replacement cable for the Dutch section of the 580 km NorNed interconnector, which returned to operation after the planned work. Lifecycle teams then support modern and legacy systems with monitoring, spares, fault location, repair and refurbishment; MakeSense combines temperature, acoustic, burial-depth and vessel data into one cable-health view.
- Review a completed turnkey link Caithness-Moray's 320 kV system and Victoria's first installation voyage
- See NorNed return to operation Manufacture, jointing and planned replacement on a 450 kV interconnector
- Open the lifecycle toolkit Installation, maintenance, legacy systems, spares and emergency repair
- Understand integrated monitoring How sensor and vessel data become a cable-health picture
Positioning and growth
Charging Forward shifts the challenge from expansion to execution
NKT describes a decade-long move from diversified conglomerate to pure-play cable provider. Its 2026-2030 Charging Forward plan is built around Execute, Excel and Evolve: deliver the high-voltage backlog and capacity programme, improve existing operations and pursue technology-led selective growth. At the end of Q2 2026, Transmission backlog was EUR 13.0 billion, down from EUR 13.5 billion at Q1 as projects were executed; five TenneT framework awards estimated above EUR 2.5 billion remained outside it. The backlog is awarded work, not completed revenue, and sits beside construction at Karlskrona, Cologne and NKT Eleonora.
- Open the Q2 execution and backlog update Backlog conversion, TenneT exclusion and capacity commissioning sequence
- Read the three strategic pillars Execute, Excel and Evolve through 2030
- Separate backlog from delivery 2025 performance, awarded work and capacity still being expanded
- Follow the 1891-to-pure-play path Cable innovations and corporate milestones
- Check Eleonora's build status Steel cutting, keel laying and planned capabilities
Official profile sources: Our story — NKT · About us — NKT
Current 2026 update
What is changing at NKT in 2026?
NKT has qualified a hotter HVDC cable system, completed a flagship New York link and moved its factory-and-vessel programme into a dated commissioning sequence.
The change in one sentence
Cable technology and capacity expansion are becoming delivery evidence.
NKT is changing what a cable can do, proving its turnkey model on a completed megaproject and sequencing the assets needed for the next backlog.
Four lenses on 2026
The same four-quadrant format used in the Company profile.
01 · Cable design
One cable carries more; another is designed to be reused
In August, NKT qualified a 525 kV extruded XLPE subsea HVDC system for continuous conductor operation up to 90 C. NKT attributes the thermal performance to redesigned semiconductive layers and a newly qualified material; it says the higher-temperature capability can, depending on project requirements, support higher transmission capacity, lower material consumption or system efficiency. Separately, its July 400 kV temporary HVAC system for Amprion can be disconnected, stored and redeployed after substation work. NKT disclosed no customer order for the 90 C system and no contract value or repeat-use cycle for the temporary cable.
- Current signal525 kV HVDC at 90 C · reusable 400 kV temporary HVAC · no commercial KPI disclosed
- Why it mattersNKT is adding thermal performance and repeat use to the value of a cable system, rather than competing only on voltage, length and installation.
- 525 kV HVDC 90 C qualification NKT · 2026-08-24
- Reusable 400 kV temporary cable NKT · 2026-07-13
02 · Commercial operation
A 600-km cable starts carrying Canadian hydropower into New York
The 400 kV HVDC Champlain Hudson Power Express reached commercial operation in May, ahead of schedule. The line spans more than 600 km from Quebec to New York City, and NKT says its turnkey scope comprised engineering, manufacturing and installation. The link can transmit up to 1,250 MW; NKT and the project partners describe that as up to 20% of city electricity demand or approximately one million households. Q2 Transmission activity then fell because the project reached commercial operation and subcontracted construction work declined.
- Current signalCommercial in May · more than 600 km · up to 1,250 MW · ahead of schedule
- Why it mattersThe project is completed proof of NKT's factory-to-installation model, while its Q2 handover shows how delivery milestones also change revenue cadence.
- Champlain Hudson commercial operation NKT · 2026-06-19
- H1 execution and capacity update NKT · 2026-08-13
03 · Capacity sequence
Factories and a second vessel now follow a commissioning calendar
NKT completed the Asnaes medium-voltage expansion near the end of Q2; it says the site was operational and ramping and contributed only marginally to quarter revenue. Additional Portuguese medium-voltage capacity remains expected at the end of 2026. The Karlskrona high-voltage factory, added Cologne capacity and NKT Eleonora remain expected in 2027 and must not be counted as current operating capacity.
- Current signalAsnaes ramping · Portugal expected end-2026 · Karlskrona, Cologne and Eleonora expected 2027
- Why it mattersThe EUR 13.0 billion Transmission backlog can convert only if factories and installation assets commission and ramp on schedule.
- H1 execution and capacity update NKT · 2026-08-13
- Asnaes factory ramp NKT · 2026-06-29
04 · What to watch
Three questions for the next disclosures
The next disclosures should test customer adoption, commissioning dates and backlog conversion rather than repeat launch language.
- Product adoptionWhich operators order the 90 C system or reusable 400 kV cable, and what capacity, material or reuse results are measured in service?
- CommissioningDo Portugal, Karlskrona, Cologne and Eleonora meet their stated dates, and how quickly does each asset ramp usable output?
- Backlog conversionWhen do the five TenneT framework awards enter backlog, and which project handovers next convert awarded work into operating links?
Annual record
Ranking history
Future editions add rows; they do not rewrite the 2026 record.
| Edition | Measurement period | Rank | Revenue growth | Net-income growth | Stock return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | FY2022–FY2025 | 38 | +72% | +341% | +122% |