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4Energy Invest presents Trading Update for the third quarter 2009
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jueves, 5 noviembre 2009, 17:45
Regulated Information 4Energy Invest, the Belgian renewable energy company focused on valorising biomass into energy, announces today its Trading Update for the third quarter of 2009. Confirmation of improved operational performance of the Amel cogeneration facilities Non audited consolidated income statement YTD Q3 2009 YTD Q3 2008 (in thousands of Euro) 30/09/2009 30/09/2008 Sales 6.319 2.150 7.259 2.744 Other operating income 415 187 41 29 Revenues 6.734 2.337 7.300 2.773 Cost of sales -3.060 -956 -3.010 -966 Personnel costs -530 -192 -275 -131 Other operating expenses -1.293 -373 -833 -345 Operating expenses -4.883 -1.521 -4.118 -1.442 Operating cash flow (EBITDA) 1.850 815 3.182 1.331 Operating cash flow (EBITDA) - excluding impact fair value warrants 2.197 931 3.295 1.443 Sales over third quarter 2009 were 22% lower compared to sales over third quarter 2008 and result from much lower electricity sales given that the average realized electricity sales price over Quarter 3 2009 was 60% lower than similar period last year. The improvement in the operational performance of the Amel I and Amel II cogeneration facilities confirmed with a 10% higher electricity production in Quarter 3 2009 compared to Quarter 2 2009. This trend also continued in October 2009 whereby the cogeneration units achieved their highest monthly production since the start of their respective operation. The evolution in EBITDA over third quarter 2009 confirms that the cost structure of the Group has stabilized and that the lower EBITDA (compared to third quarter 2008) is mainly attributable to lower electricity prices experienced in the spot markets. Electricity prices have started to recover with average realized electricity sales price in October already 22% higher than in September 2009. The build-up of experience by the in-house Operations & Maintenance team as well as the use of the covered biomass storage facilities and the additional wood preparation facilities will lead to further improvement in the operational performance going forward (both through cost reductions on the biomass supply side and the improved capacity factors of the cogeneration units). Additional revenues will also result from the commercial operation of the wood torrefaction unit in Amel as it will improve the qualitative character of the two cogeneration facilities. Start of operation of the wood torrefaction unit in Amel to produce BioCoal is scheduled before the end of the year 2009 Preparation works for the commissioning of the wood torrefaction unit have started. Various tests for using BioCoal at "utility scale" will take place early 2010 with various European utilities. 4Energy Invest has received the confirmation that 1,263,600 Euros of regional subsidies are allocated to its wood torrefaction project in Amel. 4Energy Invest's development program is confirmed even if current market conditions for debt financing are difficult Ham wood biomass cogeneration project (Belgium) 4Energy Invest incorporated on October 27th 2009 the company 4HamCogen, the project company through which it contemplates the construction and operation of the Ham cogeneration facility for which it expects financial closing before the end of the year 2009. Ham wood biomass torrefaction project (Belgium) The permit files are under consideration by the respective authorities. 4Energy Invest targets financial closing for the project by mid 2010. This should bring the project into commercial operation at the time when the cogeneration project in Ham enters into commercial operation i.e. mid 2011. As such the qualitative character of the cogeneration unit contemplated would be enhanced. The wood biomass torrefaction project would also include the construction of a terminal adjacent to the Albert Canal as strategic tool to optimize the logistics of the biomass and BioCoal flows within the Group. Pontrilas cogeneration project (United Kingdom) Contracts for the sale of the electricity and the green benefits of the project are under discussion with various interested parties. Discussions with banks interested to finance the project have been initiated. Reisbach cogeneration and torrefaction project (Germany) 4Energy Invest has adjusted the scope of its Reisbach project whereby the size of the cogeneration project will be reduced as to only produce the heat and electricity needs of the wood biomass torrefaction project considered. This press release is made available in English, Dutch and French through our corporate website www.4energyinvest.com About 4Energy Invest 4Energy Invest is a Belgian based renewable energy company that aims at creating and managing a portfolio of small to midsized locally embedded projects that valorise biomass, directly or indirectly, into energy. 4Energy Invest identifies potential biomass projects, performs a feasibility study and eventually takes responsibility for developing, financing, constructing and operating the project, in close cooperation with carefully selected suppliers and partners. 4Energy Invest (through its fully owned subsidiary Renogen) has two cogeneration projects, located in Amel (Wallonia, Belgium), that are fully operational. 4Energy Invest is building in Amel a large scale torrefaction unit to produce torrefied wood pellets, or BioCoal, with minimum CO2 footprint. Leveraging on the multi-disciplinary experience and on the in-depth biomass expertise of its management and operating team as well as on the fully operational combined heat and power plant in Amel, 4Energy Invest presently pursues other cogeneration projects either on a stand alone basis or in combination with other applications that converts biomass into solid fuel (BioCoal). In that respect, a cogeneration project and a large scale torrefaction unit in Ham (Flanders, Belgium) and a cogeneration project in Pontrilas (England, UK) are under advanced stage of development. In addition, 4Energy Invest is still developing a combined cogeneration and BioCoal production project in Germany. 4Energy Invest is listed on Euronext Brussels under symbol ENIN. For more information, please contact: Nico Terry, Chief Financial Officer Tel: +32 (0)2 526 90 13 nico.terry@4energyinvest.com Yves Crits, Chief Executive Officer Tel: +32 (0)2 526 90 11 yves.crits@4energyinvest.com This announcement was originally distributed by Hugin. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. |