11.04.2017
Energiekontor AG DE0005313506
DGAP-News: Energiekontor AG: Energiekontor stays on its growth path with a further increase in earnings
DGAP-News: Energiekontor AG / Key word(s): Final Results
Energiekontor AG: Energiekontor stays on its growth path with a further
increase in earnings
11.04.2017 / 08:17
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
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Bremen-based project developer Energiekontor AG publishes its 2016 annual
results
Energiekontor stays on its growth path with a further increase in earnings
Bremen, 11 April 2017. Energiekontor AG has once again achieved a
considerable increase in earnings in the 2016 financial year. While Group
revenue increased by 5 percent to EUR 201.8 million (previous year: EUR
191.3 million), consolidated income before taxes (EBT) climbed nearly 20
percent to EUR 35.5 million (previous year: EUR 29.7 million). At EUR 25.3
million, consolidated net income (previous year: EUR 20.9 million) saw a
year-on-year increase of 21 percent.
At the level of the AG, Energiekontor generated net income of EUR 28.7
million, thus 55 percent above the previous year's level (EUR 18.5 million).
The Management and the Supervisory Board will once again suggest a dividend
of EUR 0.80 per share at the General Meeting on 23 May 2017.
The positive performance was mainly driven by the new wind farm in Hürth
near Cologne, which had already been completed in the first half of 2016,
and also three repowering projects (Debstedt and Breitendeich in Lower
Saxony, and Grevenbroich in North Rhine-Westphalia). In addition, another
solar park, the Nadrensee project, which Energiekontor had won in the first
auction round in 2015, was completed and sold. Furthermore, the British
Gayton le Marsh wind farm, which had already been completed at the end of
2015, was sold, and the proceeds were used to prematurely repay the loans
for Group-owned wind farms, which in turn contributed to the increase in the
Group equity ratio to more than 19 percent.
The Power Generation in Group-owned Wind Farms and the Operation
Development, Innovation and Others segments each showed a decline in
earnings, which is mainly due to external factors such as the comparatively
poor wind output during the year and a marked depreciation of the British
pound versus the euro. In contrast, the Project Development and Sales (Wind,
Solar) segment saw a considerable increase in earnings, which more than
compensated for the declines in earnings in the other two segments. All
things considered, the revenue and income targets at both Energiekontor AG
and the Group were reached or even slightly exceeded. Company growth thus
continued as planned in 2016. Furthermore, thanks to the planning
permissions totalling about 100 MW obtained by the end of 2016, a solid
foundation was laid for the successful continuation of the positive Company
performance in the current 2017 financial year.
Peter Szabo, CEO of Energiekontor AG, remarks: "The successful performance
of Energiekontor AG in recent years should not obscure the fact that
competition has increased considerably and that, even in Germany, subsidies
for new projects in the renewable energy sector are now determined in
auctioning procedures. We have thoroughly prepared for this scenario in
recent years. The fact that Energiekontor has been awarded its third PV
project in an auction in February 2017 shows that the Group can draw on the
necessary experience to participate successfully in auctioning procedures."
He continues: "In our second core market, the UK, we even expect subsidies
for onshore wind to be abolished altogether. From our point of view,
auctions only serve as a transition before renewable energy, especially wind
and solar, will compete directly with conventional energy sources. This is
already partly the case today. In Scotland for example, Energiekontor is
already relying exclusively on direct power purchase agreements or PPAs with
major industrial corporations as the end customers to ensure the
profitability of its wind farms. This means that projects are measured
directly at the market price."
The Energiekontor Group is pursuing a clear strategy in order to be able to
continue its successful growth path in this environment. This includes
implementing efficiency measures as well as using optimisation potential in
the Project Development and Power Generation in Group-owned Wind Farms
segments, while expanding the solar business and tapping into new markets.
In the Netherlands, for instance, the establishment of a branch office was
followed by the conclusion of the first option agreements for the
development of wind farms; in France and the US, the first sites for
developing solar projects were identified.
Looking towards the future, Peter Szabo explains: "The entire sector is on
the verge of drastic change. We are currently taking the next step towards
open competition of all energy supply systems. Given the continuous
expansion of renewable energies together with gradual reductions in the
levelized cost of electricity, strong growth is expected in general for this
sector. As soon as renewable energy prices draw even with the cost of
electricity from fossil fuel power plants, the dependence on subsidies will
be eliminated. Once that happens, a limit on the volume of new renewable
energy installations will become obsolete. This should cause a rapid
expansion of the renewable energy market. We intend to again assume a
pioneering role in this process by realising the most profitable wind and
solar projects in order to be successful in auction procedures and maintain
our competitive position. In this context, we will also further expand our
own portfolio of wind farms and potentially also solar parks. As we have
already seen in the past, the growth path of our Company will not always be
linear in the years to come. Our focus is not on short-term profits,
however, but on the long-term sustainable growth of the Energiekontor
Group."
The complete annual report for 2016 is available online at
http://www.energiekontor.de/Finanzberichte.html.
About Energiekontor AG:
For more than 25 years, Energiekontor has stood for a sound approach to
business and a wealth of experience in wind power. Formed in Bremerhaven in
1990, the company was one of the pioneers in the industry and is now one of
the leading German project developers. Its core business covers the
planning, construction and operational management of wind farms in Germany
and abroad, and was expanded to include solar power in 2010. Energiekontor
also currently owns and operates 31 wind farms with a total rated power of
around 238 megawatts.
In addition to its headquarters in Bremen, Energiekontor also maintains
offices in Bremerhaven, Hagen im Bremischen, Aachen, Bernau (near Berlin)
and Dortmund. The company also has branch offices in England (Leeds),
Scotland (Glasgow), Portugal (Lisbon) and the Netherlands (Nijmegen). Our
track record speaks for itself: 104 wind farms completed, with 576 turbines
and total rated power of around 860 megawatts. This corresponds to an
investment volume of roughly EUR 1.4 billion.
Energiekontor went public on 25 May 2000. The shares of Energiekontor AG
(WKN 531350/ISIN DE0005313506) are listed in the General Standard segment of
the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and can be traded on all German stock
exchanges.
Contact:
Investor Relations/Press
Dr Stefan Eckhoff
Phone: (+49-421) 3304-0
Email: [email protected]
Energiekontor AG / Reuters: EKT / ISIN: DE0005313506
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11.04.2017 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a
service of EQS Group AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
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Language: English
Company: Energiekontor AG
Mary-Somerville-Straße 5
28359 Bremen
Germany
Phone: 04 21/33 04-0
Fax: 04 21/33 04-4 44
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet: www.energiekontor.de
ISIN: DE0005313506
WKN: 531350
Listed: Regulated Market in Frankfurt (General Standard);
Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf,
Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart, Tradegate Exchange
End of News DGAP News Service
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