Etrion Releases First Quarter 2018 Results
May 7, 2018, Geneva, Switzerland – Etrion Corporation (“Etrion” or the “Company”) (TSX: ETX) (OMX: ETX), a solar independent power producer, today released its condensed consolidated interim financial statements and related management’s discussion and analysis (“MD&A”) for the three months ended March 31, 2018.
Etrion Corporation delivered strong project-level results in the first quarter of 2018 from its Japanese assets. Higher installed capacity and electricity production, combined with significant reduction in corporate overhead resulted in a significant increase in revenue and consolidated EBITDA compared to the same period in 2017.
Q1-18 HIGHLIGHTS
▪ Strong performance in Japan with production and revenues up by 9% and 12%, respectively, compared to Q1-17.
▪ Consolidated EBITDA increased significantly in comparison with Q1-17 driven by performance in Japan and corporate overhead reduction.
▪ Construction of the 13.2 megawatt (“MW”) Komatsu solar project in western Japan is 96% complete, on budget, on schedule and expected to be fully operational by the end of the second quarter of 2018.
▪ Acquisition of the Greenfield Tk-2 (Niigata) project lands.
▪ Growth opportunities in Japan remain positive with nearly 400 MW of projects in different stages of development, including a backlog of 190 MW and nearly 200 MW of early stage pipeline.
▪ Sound unrestricted cash position to support the growth of the business.
Management Comments
Marco A. Northland, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, commented, “Japan continues to deliver very positive results. Cost cutting measures taken in Q4-17 have delivered significant savings in Q1-18 which, combined with a higher installed capacity compared to the same period last year, resulted in consolidated EBITDA improvements. We have also made significant progress on the development of three key projects in the backlog, with an aggregate net capacity of about 100 MW, targeting to commence construction within the next 12-18 months. We continue to have a solid cash position with sufficient liquidity to fund our backlog projects. I am very excited at the prospects over the next 12 months in the Japanese market and look forward to bringing new projects to financial close. On the operational side, our plants are performing well above plan, demonstrating superior design, technology and operations despite facing a first quarter with one of the heaviest snowfalls in nearly 40 years that caused approximately US$0.2 million of lower revenue. We continue to drive costs down and fine tune the business to better support our growth in Japan.”
FINANCIAL SUMMARY
| Three months ended | ||||
| US$ thousands (unless otherwise stated) | Q1-18 | Q1-17 | ||
| Electricity production (MWh) 1 | 8,086 | 49,922 | ||
| Japan | 8,086 | 7,446 | ||
| Chile | - | 42,476 | ||
| Financial performance 2 | ||||
| Revenues | 2,910 | 5,198 | ||
| Japan | 2,910 | 2,597 | ||
| Chile | - | 2,601 | ||
| EBITDA | 658 | 57 | ||
| Japan | 1,730 | 1,961 | ||
| Chile | - | 375 | ||
| Corporate | (1,072) | (2,279) | ||
| Net loss | (3,853) | (7,564) | ||
| Project cash distributions | 611 | 3,342 | ||
| Cash flow used in operations | (2,795) | (2,821) | ||
| Adjusted operating cash flow | 829 | 278 | ||
| Financial position | Mar 18 | Dec 17 | ||
| Unrestricted cash at parent level | 21,398 | 30,385 | ||
| Restricted cash at project level | 16,661 | 12,818 | ||
| Working capital | 39,350 | 43,611 | ||
| Consolidated net debt on a cash basis | 154,808 | 136,173 | ||
| Corporate net debt | 20,163 | 10,110 | ||
| 1 MWh-Megawatt-hour 2 2017 financial results include the financial performance of the Chilean subsidiary, PV Salvador SpA until September 30, 2017 when the Group lost control for IFRS purposes. | ||||
Operations and Finance Update call
A conference call webcast to present the Company’s first quarter 2018 Operations and Finance update will be held on Monday, May 7, 2018, at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) / 4:00 p.m. Central European Time (CET).
Dial-in details:
North America: +1-647-788-4991 / Toll Free: +1-877-291-4570 / Sweden Toll Free: 02-079-4343
Webcast:
A webcast will be available at https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/1297/23918
The Operations and Finance update call presentation and the Company’s condensed consolidated interim financial statements for the three months ended March 31, 2018, as well as the related documents, will be available on the Company’s website (www.etrion.com)
A replay of the telephone conference will be available until May 28th, 2018.
Replay dial-in details:
North America: +1-416-621-4642 / Toll Free: +1-800-585-8367
Pass code for replay: 3086538
About Etrion
Etrion Corporation is an independent power producer that develops, builds, owns and operates utility-scale solar power generation plants. The Company owns and operates 44 MW of solar capacity and 13 MW solar project under construction, all in Japan. Etrion also has several projects in the backlog and pipeline at different stages of development in Japan. The Company is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange in Canada and the NASDAQ OMX Stockholm exchange in Sweden under ticker symbol “ETX”. Etrion’s largest shareholder is the Lundin family, which owns approximately 24% of the Company’s shares directly and through various trusts.
For additional information, please visit the Company’s website at www.etrion.com or contact:
Christian Lacueva – Chief Financial Officer
Telephone: +41 (22) 715 20 90
Note: The capacity of power plants in this release is described in approximate megawatts on a direct current (“DC”) basis, also referred to as megawatt-peak (“MWp”).
Etrion discloses the information provided herein pursuant to the Swedish Securities Market Act and/or the Swedish Financial Instruments Trading Act. The information was submitted for publication in Sweden at 08:05 Central European Time on May 7, 2018.