AI Terminal

MODULE: AI_ANALYST
Interactive Q&A, Risk Assessment, Summarization
MODULE: DATA_EXTRACT
Excel Export, XBRL Parsing, Table Digitization
MODULE: PEER_COMP
Sector Benchmarking, Sentiment Analysis
SYSTEM ACCESS LOCKED
Authenticate / Register Log In

Albioma

Earnings Release Jul 29, 2010

1094_iss_2010-07-29_314b96ee-5f38-4f1f-83dd-4057b117bea6.pdf

Earnings Release

Open in Viewer

Opens in native device viewer

PRESS RELEASE

Courbevoie, 29 July 2010

First-half results 2010

  • Revenues: +15.5% at €140.1 million
  • Net consolidated profit: -5.8% at €19.4 million
  • Priority given to investments in existing thermal power plants
  • High level of activity in terms of creating new capacity and raising new financing
  • Confirmation of good medium-term prospects

Séchilienne-Sidec's Board of Directors, in a meeting chaired by Mr. Nordine Hachemi, approved the Group's financial statements for the first six months of 2010.

Key consolidated data
(in millions of euros)
st half
1
2010
st half
1
2009
Change
%
Revenues 140.1 121.3 +15.5%
EBITDA1 45.6 48.9 -6.7%
Operating profit 32.2 35.4 -9.0%
Net consolidated profit: 19.4 20.6 -5.8%
Net profit (Group share) 15.9 16.9 -5.9%

Commenting on business in the first half of the year, Nordine Hachemi, Chairman and CEO of Séchilienne-Sidec, said: "In the first half of the year, the Group was very active in several major projects. In operational terms, we prioritised investment in existing thermal power plants, in order to reinforce the technical reliability of those facilities. Most of the 2010 programme was therefore carried out in the first half of the year. We also fine-tuned the Group's corporate structure: all employees are now participants in the company's economic performance. At the same time, we increased installed capacity to almost 9 MW more than at the end of 2009, primarily by commissioning the photovoltaic firm, Pierrelatte, at the beginning of June.

In development terms, the Group has shown itself to be dynamic. At the end of June, around 53 MW were under construction, including 38 MW for the Caraïbes Energie thermal power plant, for which 22 people had already been hired. All of which ideally positions the Group, in terms of its 2012 objectives, to grow its installed capacity by around 120 to 180 MW compared to the end of 2009.

The recent agreement whereby the European Investment Bank would contribute €200 million to fund our proposed new photovoltaic capacity facilities in France is testament to the quality of our projects and our ability to achieve our objectives."

1 EBITDA: Operating profit before amortisation, net provisions, contingencies and expenses

Financial elements

Segment
(in millions of euros)
st half
1
2010
st half
1
2009
Change
%
Thermal 120.5 111.9 +7.7%
Photovoltaic 15.7 5.8 +170.7%
o/w operation 5.9 3.3 +78.8%
o/w other sales (*) 9.8 2.5 +292.0%
Wind power 3.1 2.8 +10.7%
Holding 0.8 0.8 -
TOTAL 140.1 121.3 +15.5%

(*) sales of solar panels and turnkey solar installations for third parties

Séchilienne-Sidec's consolidated revenue was €140 million, up 15.5% on 1st half 2009. All business reports positive.

Thermal: revenues from thermal business were €120.5 million, up 7.7% on the same period 2009, and represent 86% of total business.

The €8.6 million rise is attributable mainly to a coal-price impact of +€6.7 million, reflecting an increase in the average price of coal of almost €10/tonne from one half year to the next.

The balance shows the slight improvement in the technical availability of the power plants.

These levels of technical availability are clearly well below the Group's usual levels of availability. As a reminder, the level of the first half of 2009 is explained by events such as social unrest or technical incidents. The 2010 level is the result of the decision taken by the Group and announced on 16 March last to launch a three-year programme to renovate and improve the technical facilities. The 2010 tranche of that programme had the most constraints. It was carried out almost entirely during the first half of 2010 and caused extended stoppages, thus reducing the average availability of the units concerned.

Photovoltaic: solar operations accounted for €5.9 million, up 78.8% on 2009. This increase is due to the commissioning of 16.0 MW of new capacity since the end of the 1st half of 2009 (8.8 MW on the 1st half-year of 2010 including 6.9 MW in mainland France, at Pierrelatte in the Drôme region), raising the photovoltaic installed capacities used as at 30 June 2010 to 28.8 MW.

It also reflects the full-flow operations of the facilities commissioned in 2009, in excellent sun-cover conditions. The quantities produced also rose by 107%, from 7.2 GWh to 14.8 GWh. A further €9.8 million worth was also generated by the sale of photovoltaic panels.

The Group therefore has some 45.8 MW installed capacity or being constructed as at 30 June 2010 (compared to 38.6 MW at the end of 2009). 9.9 MW are yet to be connected, around 6 MW of which are due to substantial delays in connection.

Wind power: revenues from wind power were €3.1 million, due to better wind conditions during the first half of 2010.

Other factors

EBITDA was €45.6 million. The €3.3 million negative spread against the 1st half of 2009 can be analysed as follows:

Thermal

The Thermal sector's EBITDA was €39.4 million, compared to €44.0 million in the first half of 2009. The €4.6 million drop is the result of three major factors:

  • Positive effect of €5.1 million linked to increase in the price of coal from one half-year to the next;
  • Conversely, a negative effect of €-7.0 million reflects the low rate of availability due to the investment programme to renovate and improve the thermal power plants described above.

In 2009, although availability rate was not satisfactory, stoppages were, for the most part, either paid via the force majeure clause in the case of the strike in Guadeloupe, or compensated by the insurance policy in the case of the damage to the alternator in the CTBR-1 plant. Scheduled stoppages were largely postponed until the second half of 2009.

By contrast, in 2010 almost all stoppages scheduled for the year were concentrated in the first half with no compensation.

  • The effects of the social policy implemented in the thermal power plants during the first half of the year had an impact of €-1.0 million on the wage bill and covered, in particular, the implementationl of profit sharing agreements.

Photovoltaic

The photovoltaic business generated an EBITDA of €4.5 million from operations, sharply up (by €2.4 million) on the first half of 2009 thanks to the increase in average operating capacity as well as to good equipment performance. The EBITDA generated by sales of panels to third parties was €0.4 million, the same as in the first half of 2009.

Wind power

EBITDA from wind power was €2.3 million, in line with the first half of 2009.

Holding and others

The €1.1 million drop in EBITDA is mainly due to the non-recurrence in 2010 of the positive €1.6 million impact on the Linares (Spain) project in the first half of 2009.

The cost of financial debt plus other financial expenses and products was €-8.4 million, compared to €-10.1 in the first half of 2009. This €1.7 million improvement mainly reflects the fall in interest rates.

Associated companies' share of net income was €0.7 million, compared to €1.2 million in the first half of 2009. The €0.5 million decline was primarily the result of a different accounting treatment, from 31 July 2009 onwards, of derivatives incorporated in the electricity sales contracts of Mauritian entities.

Consolidated net income was €19.4 million and the Group's net income share was €15.9 million. This represents €0.56/share based on a diluted weighted average of 28,453,978 shares, compared with €0.61/share in the first half of 2009 (27,811,860 shares).

Cash flow

Cash flow generated by operating activities was €30.5 million in the first half of 2010, compared to €56.6 million over the same period in 2009. This decline was mainly due to the increase in working capital requirements, reflecting the renegotiation of payment terms for purchases of raw materials, which had a positive impact in 2009, and outflows associated with repair and maintenance work carried out at the end of 2009, on CTM in particular.

Cash flow linked to investment was €-71.9 million. This level demonstrates the intense development activity within the Group (the continuing construction of Caraïbes Energie, numerous photovoltaic projects, including Pierrelatte, brought into service in early June 2010, and in wind power with Porte de France), as well as work to renovate and boost the technical reliability of existing thermal power plants.

The cash position at period-end was €82.2 million, compared to €99.7 million at 31 December 2009 and €62.0 million as at 30 June 2009. The Group also has unused shortterm credit in the amount of €10 million, excluding lines dedicated to financing its installed solar panel inventories.

Financial structure

As at 30 June 2010, equity capital was €315.2 million.

Gross financial debt was €579.8 million. Of this, 84% was for project finance, covering facilities in operation and under construction. Net financial debt was €497.6 million, compared to €459.9 million at the end of December 2009.

During the first half of the year, €87 million of new financing was put in place:

  • o an additional €10 million to finance Caraïbes Energie;
  • o €30 million to finance taking up the lease option on CTG-A;
  • o €16 million for the Lassalle open-country power plant currently under construction in Martinique;
  • o €28 million to finance the Group's installed photovoltaic panel inventories;
  • o €11 million for the Porte de France wind power plant currently under construction in Lorraine.

In addition, the project "Séchilienne Sidec Energie Renouvelable" was approved by the European Investment Bank (EIB) Board of Directors on 23 July 2010. EIB will refinance up to €200 million with a pool of banks which is currently under constitution. Eligible projects to the refinancing are photovoltaic power projects in France.

Outlook

Business activity in the second half of the year should benefit from the better availability of its thermal power plants, which saw virtually all stoppages for technical and investment reasons carried out in the first half. It will also benefit from the volume effect of the new photovoltaic facilities brought into service.

On the second half of 2010, the Group anticipates much better results from operations compared to the second half of 2009.

For the second part of the year, the Group is confident that current projects will continue, in particular the work on the Caraïbes Energie power plant, for which the Group has recruited 22 staff and which is planned to go into industrial service in the first quarter of 2011.

In the photovoltaic field, 7.1 MW were under construction as at 30 June 2010, on the mainland, on Réunion and in the Caribbean.

An 8 MW Porte de France wind farm in Lorraine also went into construction during this half of the year.

In addition, the Group launched in July 2010 the construction of a 12 MW photovoltaic park in Kourou in Guyana.

This allows the Group to confirm its medium-term outlook, namely, a growth in its installed capacity by about 120 to 180 MW by 2012 compared to the installed capacity at the end of 2009.

***

Next financial publication: 3rd quarter 2010 revenues on 21 October 2010 after trading hours

About Séchilienne-Sidec (www.sechilienne-sidec.com)

Founded 30 years ago, Sechilienne-Sidec is an independent energy producer specialising in electricity generation in medium-sized coal/biomass, photovoltaic and wind power plants. With 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. ISIN: FR0000060402 - SECH

* * *

Contacts Séchilienne-Sidec +33 (0)1 41 16 82 00 Oratorio +33 (0)1 44 94 96 30

Jean-François Carminati - [email protected] Arnaud Salla - [email protected]

Consolidated income statement

(000 euros) st half
1
2010
st half
1
2009
Income from ordinary activities 140,076 121,263
Cost of goods (including stock variation) (58,038) (44,240)
Logistics expense (2,881) (2,672)
Personnel expense (11,361) (9,767)
Other operating income (expense) (22,897) (15,939)
Depreciation, amortisation and provisions (12,815) (13,852)
amortissements et provisions
Other income (expense) from operations 155 589
Operating income 32,239 35,382
Cost of debt (9,471) (10,993)
Other financial income (expense) 1,100 915
Share of net income of associates 695 1,202
Income before tax 24,563 26,506
Tax expense (5,178) (5,920)
Net income for the period 19,385 20,586
Attributable to equity holders of Séchilienne 15,939 16,921
Minority interests 3,446 3,665
Earnings per share (€) 0.56 €/a 0.61 €/a
Fully-diluted earnings per share (€) 0.56 €/a 0.61 €/a

Consolidated cash flow statement

(000 euros) st half
1
2010
st half
1
2009
Net income for the period 19,385 20,586
Adjustments
Depreciation and provision expense
13,418 13,547
Movement in deferred tax 2,042 1,294
Net income of associates net of dividends received 1,152 (417)
Gain or loss on disposal 25 -
Other non-cash items 277 (666)
Capitalised financial income (172) (287)
Cost of debt 9,471 10,993
Current tax expense for the period 3,135 4,626
Cash flow 48,733 49,676
Change in working capital requirement (13,416) 6,533
Tax paid (4,828) 367
Net cash flow from operating activities 30,489 56,576
Acquisition of tangible and intangible assets
Acquisition of financial assets
(71,329)
(31)
(50,412)
(256)
Disposal of tangible and intangible assets 17 199
Disposal and decrease in financial assets 104 236
Cash impact of change in perimeter (243) -
Change in current accounts of affiliates (414) 71
Net cash flow from investing activities (71,896) (50,162)
Capital increase 105 -
Capital increase for minorities - -
Séchilienne-Sidec dividends paid - -
Dividends paid to minorities - -
Cost of debt (9,471) (10,993)
Financing facilities 11,701 9,181
New debt and loans 36,846 12,058
Repayment of debt and loans (15,267) (21,518)
Net cash flow from financing activities 23,914 (11,272)
Exchange rate effect on cash (1) 4
Net movement in cash (17,494) (4,854)
Opening net cash 99,708 66,811
Closing net cash 82,214 61,957
Movement in cash (17,494) (4,854)

Consolidated balance sheet

ASSETS
(000 euros) As at 30
June
2010
As at 31
December
2009
Goodwill 950 950
Intangible assets 107,483 109,758
Tangible assets 733,615 683,249
Non-current financial assets 22,766 22,848
Investments in associates 24,865 24,661
Non-current derivative financial instruments 7,009 4,919
Deferred tax assets 2,481 2,633
Total non-current assets 899,169 849,018
Inventory and work in progress 33,464 38,774
Accounts receivable 36,476 20,551
Other current assets 33,581 20,254
Current derivative financial instruments - -
Current financial assets 20,922 20,922
Investments in securities 63,254 91,444
Bank accounts 18,974 11,408
Total current assets 206,671 203,353
Total assets 1,105,840 1,052,371
EQUITY & LIABLITITIES
(000 euros)
As at 30
June
2010
As at 31
December
2009
Share capital 1,095 1,095
Additional paid-up capital 14,922 14,817
Reserves 228,610 209,930
Translation reserves (5,540) (5,925)
Net income for the period 15,939 40,830
Total group equity 255,026 260,747
Minority interests 60,200 60,818
Total equity 315,226 321,565
Staff benefits 7,503 6,847
Contingency provisions 1,303 1,490
Deferred tax liabilities 46,186 45,212
Non-current debt 483,923 481,745
Non-current derivative financial instruments 18,648 12,309
Total non-current liabilities 557,563 547,603
Accounts payable 59,183 58,813
Tax 12,501 16,422
Current derivative financial instruments - -
Current debt 95,931 81,033
Other current liabilities 65,436 26,935
Total current liabilities 233,051 183,203
Total equity & liabilities 1,105,840 1,052,371

Production capacities (MW, gross)

As at 30 June
2010
As at 30 June
2009
Thermal
CTBR 1 and 2
CTG A and B
CTM
CCG
Thermal (excl. Mauritius)
108.0
122.0
64.0
40.0
334.0
108.0
122.0
64.0
40.0
334.0
CTBV
CTDS
CTSAV 1 and 2
Thermal Mauritius
s/total Thermal
70.0
35.0
90.0
195.0
529.0
70.0
35.0
90.0
195.0
529.0
Photovoltaic
DOM
Outside France
France Metropole
s/total photovoltaic
19.5
2.4
6.9
28.8
10.4
2.4
-
12.8
Wind
Vanault le Chatel
Bambesch
Niedervisse
Clamanges et Villeseneux
s/total Wind
8.5
12.0
12.0
10.0
42.5
8.5
12.0
12.0
10.0
42.5
Total Group 600.3 584.3

Talk to a Data Expert

Have a question? We'll get back to you promptly.