24 MWs of Owned Solar Projects at 85% Average Plant EBITDA Margins
New York, NY, April 15, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NEWMEDIAWIRE -- Alternus Energy Inc. (OTC: ALTN) (the “Company” or “Alternus”), a global renewable energy company, today announced the Company's financial results for the year ended December 31, 2018.
Key Financial Highlights for 2018:
- Revenues increased by 4% to $2.6 million
- EBITDA increased 206% to $0.7 million
- Net loss decreased by 23% to $1.2 million
- Secured $20 million growth capital debt facility
- Secured European government counter-party contracts for 15-20 years, delivering long-term predictable positive cash flows for the business
Key Business Highlights for 2018:
- Corporate name change to Alternus Energy Inc.
- Expanded operations to include Germany, Italy and Romania
- 24MWs of owned solar projects at December 31, up from 7.7MWs for prior year
- Acquired 25 solar projects totaling 9.6MW of installed power across Germany, representing approximately $18 million of fixed price contractual revenues over next 20 years
- Completed the purchase of the ‘Liquid Sun’ operating solar projects in Italy with installed power of 2.2MW generating approximately $0.7 million of additional annual revenues to Alternus with over 85% operating margins
- Sold 1MW asset in Italy, reducing short-term debt by $3.5 million
- Executed exclusive framework agreement with leading developer in Germany to acquire at least 200MWs of solar projects over 3 years
- Engaged Marcum accounting firm for annual audits
The newly acquired parks in Germany and Italy benefit from feed-in-tariff (FiT) government incentives that guaranty a fixed sales price for every megawatt of energy that the parks generate over twenty years from the date of construction. As a result, Alternus has a contracted revenue backlog of approximately $4.8 million over the next 15 years.
2019 Outlook:
Given that the Company’s business operations are secured by 15-20 year counter-party contracts and has long-term predictable positive cash flows, there is a high degree of visibility of cashflows in our business model. Based on our current business development pipeline, backlog and contracts, the Company continues to expand in Germany and expects to add an additional 40 – 60MWs to its existing 10MWs. Negotiations are ongoing to acquire an additional 18MW of operational parks from an existing partner in Italy, and the Company is now expanding into The Netherlands with agreements to acquire up to 24MWs of operational parks there. These additional acquisitions remain subject to reaching definitive agreement. In the event that all of the above additions conclude as expected, then the Company will finish 2019 with over 100MWs of installed power that combined, should deliver over $300 million contracted revenue backlog over the following 15 – 20 years.
Management Commentary
“We have been building a platform for a sustainable and profitable long-term alternative energy business over the past few years,” commented Vincent Browne, Alternus Energy’s Chief Executive Officer, President and Chairman. “With access to growth capital in place and a robust pipeline of solar projects, we are at a very exciting inflection point to significantly scale our business. We will continue to invest in our infrastructure and additional solar parks to increase our installed power, which will drive increases in revenue and income. In Germany we now own twenty-five individual solar parks with a combined installed power capacity of 9.6MW, representing approximately $1 million of recurring annual revenues for the next 20 years.”
Mr. Browne concluded, “We continue our vision to become a global independent power producer in green energy, and to do so at the lowest possible risk and highest possible returns for our shareholders. While 2018 has positioned us for success, we know this is just the beginning. We continue to execute on this plan in 2019 and build shareholder value.”
Financial Results for the Year Ended December 31, 2018:
Revenue for the year ended December 31, 2018 was $2.6 million, an increase of $0.1 million or 4%, compared to $2.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2017.
Gross profit for the year ended December 31, 2018 was $1.3 million, an increase of $0.1 million, compared to $1.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2017. The overall gross margin was 50.7% for the year ended December 31, 2018, compared to 49.1% for the year ended December 31, 2017.
Selling, General and Administrative expenses for the year ended December 31, 2018 were $1.8 million, an increase of $0.8 million or 86%, compared to $1.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2017.
Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2018 was $0.7 million, an increase of $1.4 million, or 206%, compared to an EBITDA loss of $0.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2017.
Operating loss for the year ended December 31, 2018 was $1.6 million, a decrease of $0.0 million or 3%, compared to $1.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2017.
Net loss for the year ended December 31, 2018 was $1.2 million, a decrease of $0.4 million, or 23%, compared to $1.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2017. The resulting EPS loss for the year ended December 31, 2018 was $(0.02) per diluted share, compared to $(0.02) per diluted share for the year ended December 31, 2017.
At December 31, 2018, Alternus had $1.0 million of cash, $8.9 million of restricted cash for Italian acquisitions, $8.0 million of construction in progress, $33.9 million of total assets, $26.3 debt, and 110.7 million common shares issued and outstanding.
About Alternus Energy Inc.
Alternus Energy Inc. is a global renewable energy company that owns and operates Utility Scale Solar parks internationally. Each solar park generates clean energy every day that is sold to national power grids under long term, government counterparty, fixed price contracts. The Company currently has operational solar parks in Germany, Italy and Romania with contracts in place to add additional solar parks in the Netherlands. For further information please go to: www.AlternusEnergy.com
Forward-looking Statements
This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as “may,” "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," “potential” and similar statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact in this press release are forward-looking statements and involve certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections about the Company and the industry in which the Company operates, but involve a number of unknown risks and uncertainties. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in the Company's filings with the OTC Markets. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent occurring events or circumstances, or changes in its expectations, except as may be required by law. Although the Company believes that the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot assure you that such expectations will turn out to be correct, and actual results may differ materially from the anticipated results. You are urged to consider these factors carefully in evaluating the forward-looking statements contained herein and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which are qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements.