Albioma

Earnings Release • Aug 31, 2009

Press
release Paris,
August
31st ,
2009,
7am

First half‐year 2009 Sound results in spite of a disrupted first quarter

Key
figures:

• Revenues: €
  121.3
  million
• EBITDA: €
  48.9 million
• Net
  profit
  (Group
  share): €
  16.9 million

*The
Board of
Directors
of SECHILIENNE‐SIDEC approved
the first
half‐year 2009 consolidated
financial statements
during
its
meeting
on
August
28th,
2009.

The
key
figures
are
as
follows:*

*
*
*

Condensed consolidated income statement

(IFRS – € millions)	30/06/08	30/06/09	% change
Revenues	130.6	121.3	(7.2%)
EBITDA	51.5	48.9	(5.0%)
Operating profit	41.1	35.4	(14.0%)
Net finance expense	(9.4)	(10.1)
Share of profit from associates	2.0	1.2
Profit before tax	33.7	26.5	(21.5%)
Income tax -	(6.7)	(5.9)
Net profit	27.1	20.6	(23.9%)
Minority interests	4.4	3.7
Net profit (Group share)	22.6	16.9	(25.3%)

Commenting
on
these
results,
Nordine
Hachemi,
Chairman
and
CEO,
declared: *"In
a
context
of deteriorated general
economic
environment,
and
despite
the
events
that
disrupted
the
Group's
activities
over
the
first quarter,
with
a
slight
decrease
of
our
EBITDA
(‐5%)
and
a
Group
Share
Net
profit
of
14%
of
our
revenues,
our results
remain

solid
and
we
maintain
our
development
strategy."*

Income statement

Revenues

First
half‐year
2009
revenues
totalled
€
121.3
million,
down
7.2%
compared
to
revenues
at
June
30th
2008. As mentioned
in our press
release
of August
13th 2009, the
decline
in
sales was
linked
to the
thermal division
and
was
primarily
due
to
the
decline
in
energy
feedstock
prices,
which is reflected
in
the
selling prices.

The
Group
notes
that
while
awaiting
an
agreement
on
the
decision
regarding
the
hardship
clause
related
to the
shut
down of
the
CTM
power
plant,
due
to
the
strikes
that
occurred
earlier
this
year,
the
fixed
portion of
revenues
(fixed
premium)

was
billed
as
per
normal
and
in
full
over
the
whole
period.

EBITDA

The
Group
reported
EBITDA
of
€ 48.9 million in
the
first
half‐year
2009,
compared
to
€
51.5
million in
2008. This 5.0%
decline
was
primarily
due
to
the
negative
impact
of
energy
feedstock
prices1 ,
which
was
partly offset
by
the
excellent
operational
performance
of
the
active
thermal
power
plants
and
the
increased photovoltaic
capacity
in
operation.

EBITDA
for
the
half‐year
also
included
non‐recurring
items,
the
total
impact
of
which
is
negligible.

They notably
included
the
application
of
amendments
to
the
CO2
quotas
of
2008
and
the
first
half
of
2009,
as well
as
the
impact
of
incidents
(breakdown
and
strike),
which
disrupted
operations
earlier
in
the
year.

Operating profit

Operating
profit
totalled
€
35.4 million,
compared
with
€
41.1
million in
the
2nd
half‐year
2008,
a
decline
of 14.0%.

The
following
items
were
added
to
those
that
affected
EBITDA:

• €
  1.4
  million
  relating
  to
  higher
  depreciation
  charges,
  due
  to
  the
  commissioning
  of
  new
  photovoltaic and
  wind‐powered
  units,
• €
  1.8
  million
  net
  charge
  to
  the
  provision
  to
  hedge
  uncertainty
  on
  the
  period
  covered
  by
  the
  hardship clause
  during
  the
  closure
  of
  the
  CTM
  power
  plant.

Net profit

Net
profit
was
€ 20.6 million,
compared
to
€
27.1
million in
the
first
half‐year
2008, a
decrease
of
23.9%.

This
decline
includes
a
€
0.7
million
increase
in
financial
expenses,
a
€
0.8
million
decrease
in
the
share
of profit
of
associated
companies,
partially
balanced
by
a
€
0.8
million
reduction
in
the
income
tax
charge.

Net profit (Group share)

Net
profit
(Group
share)
was
€
16.9 million
(compared
to
€
22.6
million
at June
30th
2008)
after
taking
into account
the
share
of
profit
of
minority
interests,
corresponding
to €
3.7
million
as
per
30th
June
2009,
down €
0.7
million.

Funding and financial structure

Net
debt
totalled
€
464.2 million,
compared
to
€
459.7
million at December
31st
2008.

Since
the
beginning of
the
year,
the
Group
has
signed
€
123.6
million
of
financing
contracts,
dedicated
to projects
under
construction
or
to
be
constructed,
including:

• € 22.6 million for
  the
  development
  of
  its
  photovoltaic
  projects
  (long‐term
  financing
  over
  15
  years plus
  construction
  time),
• €
  86.0 million for
  the
  construction
  of
  the
  Caraïbes
  Energie
  power
  plant
  (long‐term
  financing
  over
  18 years
  plus
  construction
  time),
• €
  15.0 million for
  a
  new
  corporate
  debt
  facility.

¹ Thermal
power
station
contracts
with
EDF
stipulate
that
the
quantity
of
coal
consumed
by
the
station
during
the
period
under consideration
is
billed
to
the
customer
based
on
the
price
of
the
last
known
coal
delivery
at
that
date,
whereas
the
coal
actually consumed
may
originate
from
previously
delivered
coal
(stock).

This
mechanism
may
thus
generate
variations
that
have
an
impact on
net
profit
in
the
event
the
price
of
coal
changes
between
two
deliveries,
without
the
Company
being
able
to
anticipate
this impact
(Source:
reference
document
2008).

Other items

In
July,
following the
80%
success
of
the
offered
option
of
receiving
50%
of
dividends
in Company's
shares, the
Group
paid
in
cash
€
20.6
million
out
of
a
total
of
€
33.7
million.

In
addition,
the
Group concluded amendments to
electricity
sale contracts for
its
biomass/coal power plants
in
operation,
which
take
into
account
the
reduction
in
greenhouse
gas
quotas ("CO2
quotas") allocated
to electricity
producers.

These
addendums
enable
the
Group
to
include the cost
increase generated
by
this
quota
reduction
in
its
electricity
selling
price,
with
the
exception
of
a
limited
deductible.

Also
the
company
renegotiated
in
the
first
semester
2009
its
module
sourcing
contract
with
First
Solar.
This renegotiation
allows
a
sensitive
reduction
of
the
module
yearly
purchase
price
on
the
period
2009‐2012 and
a
larger
flexibility
on
the
purchased
quantities.

2009 outlook

The
Group
is
confident
in
the
continued
development
of
ongoing
projects
over
the
second
half
of
the
year, in
particular
regarding
the
progress
in
construction
work
on
Caraïbes
Energie
power
plant,
the
beginning
of construction
of
two
greenfield
Photovoltaic
power
plant
in
France
for
combined 19
MW and
the development
of
new
roof‐based
photovoltaic
units
in
Reunion,
Martinique
and
Guadalupe
islands
.

*
*
*

*
*
*

Shareholders' agenda – November 4th, 2009 after close of trading: Quarterly information (July‐September)

About
Séchilienne‐Sidec

*Founded
25
years
ago,
Séchilienne‐Sidec
is
an
independent
energy
producer specialised
in
electricity
generation
in medium
size
coal/biomass,
photovoltaic
and
wind
power
plants.

Due
to
its
technical
expertise,
its
project
management experience
and
the
quality
of
its
teams
of
engineers,
the
Group
manages
all
stages
of
a
power
plant's
life
cycle:
design, finance,
construction
and
operation,
all
over
the
world
and
more
specifically
in
complex
environments.

The
Group
had a
total
operating
capacity
of
584
Megawatts
at
30
June
2009. ISIN:
FR0000060402
–
SECH*

*
*
*

Contacts Investor
Relations Press
Relations

Séchilienne‐Sidec +33
(0)1
41
16
82
00

Citigate
Dewe
Rogerson Agnès
Villeret

‐
33
(0)1
53
32
78
95
‐ agnes.villeret@citigate.fr Citigate Dewe
Rogerson Servane
Taslé
‐
33
(0)1
53
32
78
94
‐ servane.tasle@citigate.fr

Please
visit
our
website
for
more
information:
www.sechilienne‐sidec.com