Voltalia SA: 2019 second half rebound, as expected - Long-term visibility and growth secured with over €5 billion of future revenues under contracts
Voltalia SA
Sound FY 2019 performance compared to FY 2018, which integrated non-recurring items
2020 objectives maintained in a less predictable environment due to the Covid-19 situation
2023 roadmap already well underway and fully financed
Revenues long-term visibility and contained leverage remain key features of the Voltalia model
Voltalia (Euronext Paris ISIN code: FR0011995588), international player in renewable energies, announces today its FY 2019 results[3]. Volltalia will comment on its FY 2019 results and short to mid-term perspectives during a live webcast starting at 9.00 AM Paris time on Monday 23, 2020. All connection details are available on our website: https://www.voltalia.com/uk/investors. "2019 is another year where the Voltalia model has proven its robustness. Good operational and financial performances during the second half allowed another year of positive net profit. As the Covid-19 outbreak is putting a lot of stress on people and economy around the world, we belong to a very resilient sector with revenues secured by long-term contracts. Voltalia benefits from over €5 billion of contracted future revenues, one of the best levels in the industry given its size. Voltalia's strength also comes from its strategy to focus on competitive, non-subsidized power projects, its integrated model and its cautious, low-leverage financial policy. In addition to presenting challenges, the Covid-19 crisis will create opportunities that can be seized by strong players such as Voltalia" comments Sébastien Clerc, CEO of Voltalia. Key figures 2019 full year results show a solid and profitable performance, with growth after restatement of the non-recurring price hikes that occurred in Brazil in 2018 (+13% in revenues and +16% in EBITDA).
Business review Energy sales: portfolio expansion and diversification compensate the 2019 normalisation of pricing in Brazil With second half revenues and EBITDA outperforming that of the first half by 84% and 82% respectively, full-year revenues in 2019 were stable and full-year EBITDA declined by €9 million (-11%) when compared with 2018, at constant exchange rates.
Robust performances of existing portfolio In 2018, Voltalia added €25 million and €20 million of revenues and EBITDA, respectively, thanks to a non-recurring opportunity resulting into selling price hikes[4]. Restated for this impact, Voltalia records in 2019 a strong double-digit growth in revenues (+23%) and EBITDA (+16%), reflecting overall robust performances across the portfolio and the increase in installed capacity: 154 MW of capacity has been added in 2019, almost entirely during the second semester.
Portfolio diversification Voltalia's portfolio diversification accelerated in 2019: United-Kingdom, Belgium, Portugal, Italy, Greece and Egypt already represented close to 11% of Energy sales (versus less than 3% in 2018). The performance has been good overall with revenues multiplied by 4.2 compared with 2018, and first Energy sales in new countries (Egypt, Italy, Spain, Belgium) thanks to organic development and Helexia's acquisition. Helexia For its first six months within the Group, Helexia recorded very robust revenues growth at €14 million driven by expansion in installed capacity (62 MW at year-end 2019 vs. 51 MW upon acquisition) and very dynamic Services activities. Commercial efforts (22 new hires since the acquisition) and one-off integration costs weighed temporarily on its EBITDA contribution, at €4 million over the six-month period.
Services: a sustainable contributor to EBITDA
At constant exchange rates, Services revenues in 2019 were up 24% on 2018, with a 58% increase in EBITDA. This increase reflected high levels of construction activity for the Group's own assets as well as a strong clients' appetite for projects developed by Voltalia.
As part of Voltalia's value enhancing strategy of internalizing development, construction and maintenance, revenues eliminations were up by 45% on 2018, at €99.3 million, representing, once corporate costs are added, €22.1 million of EBITDA. The increase reflects high volumes of activity in the context of the major growth of generating capacity experienced by Voltalia.
Other income statement items: positive net profit thanks to dynamic second half
Consolidated EBITDA stood at €65.1 million, €9.4 million less than in 2018 at constant currency. The €20 million EBITDA attributable to 2018 non-recurring price hikes in Brazil has been partially compensated by the addition of new capacity, mostly concentrated in the second half of the year, and the growing profitability of Services. Depreciation, amortisation and provisions were broadly stable at €29 million. Financial result improved by €2.1 million at €27.8 million, mainly due to the combined effects of lower interest rates for plants in Brazil, foreign exchange gains and the remuneration of cash deposits, which more than offset the rise in the cost of new project financings put in place since January 2019. Taxes were down by €6.2 million, driven by the drop in Voltalia's taxable profits in Brazil, which was increased in 2018 by the non-recurring price hikes. Minority interests recorded a loss of €1.8 million. Plants co-owned with minority partners recorded low production levels in the first half of the year and have a slower profitability ramp-up profile than fully owned plants. These items buffered the decrease in EBITDA. The strong Group net profit in the second half of the year (+€13.3 million), translated into another year of positive Group net profit, at €4.6 million.
IFRS 16 impact on financial statements The application of IFRS 16 has the following effects on the income statement and balance sheet as at December 31, 2019:
IFRS 16 provides for the recognition of all leases on the lessee's balance sheet, with recognition of an asset (representing the right to use the leased asset during the term of the lease) and a liability (under the obligation to pay rent). The right of use (asset) and the lease debt, equal at the beginning of the contract, are calculated as the present value of future lease payments. For Voltalia, these contracts are mainly (75%, i.e. €30 million) emphyteotic leases of land where Voltalia has built its plants. The balance is made of office rentals (20%) and motor vehicles or equipment (5%).
Simplified consolidated balance sheet In 2019, Voltalia's balance sheet reached €1.5 billion (+58%), a growth coming from new plants, continued investment in the development of projects and increased cash balance.
Fixed assets grew by €379.4 million (+51%) including:
At December 31, 2019, the Group's cash position stood at €269.7 million, up by €161.1 million on 31 December 2018. In July 2019, Voltalia carried out a €376 million capital increase with the sole purpose of financing its expansion plan by 2023, with part of the proceeds initially used to (i) prepay corporate debt and (ii) postpone drawdowns of its long-term project financing in order to save interest charges when relevant. The moderate increase in debt, up by €150.2 million, reflects this strategy and translates into a very low gearing of 46%[5]. The Group's total financial debt, contracted in local currency, is entirely backed by power production plants. The average residual maturity of current and committed project debt is 15 years. In addition, Voltalia had €135 million of unused syndicated revolving corporate credit facilities at end 2019, on top of the unused portion of various long-term project-finance facilities funding plants in construction. Recent development since January 2020 and outlook Major win in Construction Services in Portugal, sale of ready-to-build project in Brazil In February 2020, Voltalia announced it had been selected by Smartenergy / Edisun Power to provide engineering services, equipment supply and turnkey construction services for three solar power plants located in Portugal, for a total installed capacity of 134 MW. Voltalia also secured a 10-year maintenance contract for the plants. The contracts have a total value of around €80 million. As part of its dynamic development to own or sell, Voltalia has announced in January 2020 the sale of a 67 MW wind project under development to Total-Eren. Voltalia will also perform maintenance services for Total-Eren (maintenance for wind plant). The sale of the development will be recognized in 2020, and the long-term maintenance contract will start from 2021. Acquisition of Greensolver: Capturing more of the O&M value chain, notably in wind Already well positioned in the maintenance of solar plants for third-party clients, Voltalia is accelerating in the provision of Wind O&M services. Besides its first 67 MW wind contract with Total-Eren, Voltalia acquired end of February Greensolver, a long-standing and growing provider of technical, administrative and contractual services throughout the lifecycle of wind and solar power plants. With 39 employees, the company manages 95 plants with a combined capacity of 1.4 GW located in nine European countries, and will rapidly expand its business horizon thanks to the support of Voltalia. Voltalia to build its largest solar plant (270 MW) and a new wind farm (150 MW) In March 2020, Voltalia announced the signing of a long-term power sales contract with Braskem, one of the world's leading producers of thermoplastic resin. This client joins other long-term partners to be supplied by Voltalia's Solar Serra do Mel (SSM) 1&2 power plants located in Rio Grande do Norte (Brazil). SSM 1&2 will have a capacity of 270 MW, making it Voltalia's largest solar project. The plant is expected to be commissioned in the second semester of 2022. Also in March 2020, Voltalia announced that, after securing a long-term power sale contract, it has started the construction of the VSM 3 wind farm (150 MW) in its Serra Branca cluster. As for VSM 1&2, VSM 3 turbines will start producing electricity as soon as they are installed, using Voltalia's connection infrastructure. The wind plant will be progressively commissioned between Q4 2020 and Q2 2021.
2020 ambition maintained in a less predictable environment due to the Covid-19 crisis
Voltalia is closely monitoring the impact of the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak on its activity, with a strong priority given to its employees' health. A dedicated action plan has been deployed to implement the relevant safety measures and closely inform all the employees. In line with each country's regulations and recommendations, Voltalia has organized work from home. Construction and Maintenance activities are performed on site for essential operations with a higher level of safety and sanitary measures. Businesswise, the Company expects neither short- nor long-term impact on its 717 MW ongoing Energy sales activity, with producing assets selling power at contracted price under long-term agreements (17.1 years of weighted average residual maturity). However, the Covid-19 situation can affect some of Voltalia's suppliers which could delay construction of sites to be completed in 2020, even though the supply of equipment is already contracted for plants currently under construction. In addition, since the Covid-19 outbreak, the Brazilian real (BRL) weakened versus the euro. Finally, although it is not the case so far, some Services clients could request Voltalia to postpone the execution of certain development or construction contracts due to the Covid-19. Voltalia closely follows the potential impacts on the construction time frames. Voltalia will publicly release updated information in case of significant delay on the commissioning dates of the plants. Voltalia provides the following information in order to help its shareholders to analyze certain potential effects of an extended and aggravated Covid-19 situation, as well as the robustness of Voltalia's business model.
2023 ambitions confirmed and fully financed In June 2019, Voltalia announced a new 2.6 GW ambition of capacity in operation or in construction in 2023. The required equity for this new growth ambition has been entirely financed by the subsequent capital increase. 73% of the 2.6 GW target is secured thanks to new long-term power sales secured recently: 389 MW in 2019 plus 388 MW since the beginning of 2020. Voltalia's pipeline of future projects, to be kept or sold with construction and maintenance Services, has reached 7.8 GW at the end of 2019, a 28% increase year-on-year. Voltalia needs to transform and keep less than 10% of this pipeline in the next four years to reach its capacity ambitions. With these early successes, Voltalia is in a position to confirm its 2023 ambitions:
Next on the agenda: Q1 2020 revenues on April 22, 2020 About Voltalia (www.voltalia.com) Voltalia is an international player in the renewable energy sector. The Group produces and sells electricity generated from wind, solar, hydraulic, biomass and storage facilities that it owns and operates. Voltalia has generating capacity in operation and under construction of more than 1.2 GW and a portfolio of projects under development representing total capacity of 7.8 GW. Voltalia is also a service provider and supports its investor clients in renewable energy projects during all phases, from design to operation and maintenance. As a pioneer in the corporate market, Voltalia provides a global offer to private companies, ranging from the supply of green electricity and energy efficiency services to the local production of their own electricity. The Group has 791 employees and is present in 20 countries on 4 continents and is able to act worldwide on behalf of its clients. Voltalia is listed on the regulated market of Euronext Paris, compartment B (FR0011995588 - VLTSA) and is part of the Enternext Tech 40 and CAC Mid & Small indices. The Group is also included in the Gaïa-Index, an index for socially responsible midcaps.
Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains certain forward-looking statements relating to the business of Voltalia, which shall not be considered per se as historical facts, including the ability to manufacture, market, commercialize and achieve market acceptance for specific projects developed by Voltalia, estimates for future performance and estimates regarding anticipated operating losses, future revenues, capital requirements, needs for additional financing. In addition, even if the actual results or development of Voltalia are consistent with the forward-looking statements contained in this press release, those results or developments of Voltalia may not be indicative of their in the future. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by words such as "could," "should," "may," "expects," "anticipates," "believes," "intends," "estimates," "aims," "targets," or similar words. Although the management of Voltalia believes that these forward-looking statements are reasonably made, they are based largely on the current expectations of Voltalia as of the date of this press release and are subject to a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievement expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. In particular, the expectations of Voltalia could be affected by, among other things, uncertainties involved in Voltalia's produced electricity selling price, the evolution of the regulatory context in which Voltalia operates and the competitiveness of renewable energies or any other risk and uncertainties that may affect Voltalia's production sites' capacity or profitability of as well as those developed or identified in any public documents filed by Voltalia with the AMF, included those listed in section 2.2 "Risk factors" of the 2018 document de référence filed with the French financial market authority (the Autorité des marchés financiers - the "AMF") on March 29, 2019 under number D.19-0222. In light of these risks and uncertainties, there can be no assurance that the forward-looking statements made in this press release will in fact be realized. Notwithstanding the compliance with article 223-1 of the General Regulation of the AMF (the information disclosed must be "accurate, precise and fairly presented"), Voltalia is providing the information in these materials as of this press release, and disclaims any intention or obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
Installed capacity at end December 2019[7]
* 4 MW of solar and 12 MW thermal
Electricity production report
Includes the production of Oiapoque solar
Consolidated income statement (unaudited)
Consolidated balance sheet (unaudited)
[1] €270 million of cash and cash equivalent plus €135 million of unused corporate revolving credit line, on top of various undrawn project finance loans [2] Calculated as Financial Debt / (Equity + Financial Debt) [3] Accounts reviewed and closed by the Board of directors on March, 20, 2020, anticipating the exception order allowing the Board to close the annual accounts by conference call [4] See full-year results communication dated March 19, 2019. In 2018, In 2018, Voltalia took advantage of non-recurring opportunities, by suspending the execution of contracts for some of its wind farms (60 MW at Areia Branca and 99 MW at Vila Para) and sell the electricity at higher prices through private short-term contracts on the free market. [5] Financial Debt / (Equity + Financial Debt) [6] From January 1st until March 18th. [7] Including the contribution of Helexia from July 1st, 2019 Regulatory filing PDF file Document title: pdf-VEN Document: https://eqs-cockpit.com/c/fncls.ssp?u=QDRCSUGMNI |
Language: | English |
Company: | Voltalia SA |
84 boulevard de Sébastopol | |
75003 Paris | |
France | |
E-mail: | [email protected] |
Internet: | www.voltalia.com |
ISIN: | FR0011995588 |
Euronext Ticker: | VLTSA |
AMF Category: | Inside information / News release on accounts, results |
EQS News ID: | 1003729 |
End of Announcement | EQS News Service |
1003729 23-March-2020 CET/CEST