The wind farm project developer PNE WIND AG submitted the report on the development of the first nine months of fiscal year 2011.
The company development is characterised by activities in the offshore area as well as the further development of the project pipeline of wind farms in Germany and abroad.
This is connected with considerable inputs. Because of these input costs for future income-generating wind farm projects, PNE WIND AG closed the first nine months of 2011 with an operating result (EBIT) of EUR -0.7 million (previous year: EUR 7.9 million). As short-term and medium-term positive results, especially from the offshore area, are expected, PNE WIND AG maintained the prediction that the operating result (EBIT) in fiscal years 2011 to 2013 will be total of at least EUR 60 to 72 million.
Due to a lower number of wind farms built onshore, strongly fluctuating revenues with one project planner fell at the Group level from EUR 56.2 million to EUR 33.1 million. Besides activities in the offshore sector, the Kemberg II wind farm which is under construction, as well as revenues in the power generation segment, is reflected here. The windy third quarter, among other things, ensured a high level of power generation in their own operated wind farms.
Compared with the previous year, cash flows from current business activities significantly improved and is now EUR 2.8 million following EUR -8.4 million in the period under comparison. The positive cash flow is mainly due to the decrease in receivables and other assets from the receipt of a milestone payment from the Danish energy company DONG Energy Power A/S for the offshore project “Borkum Riffgrund I”. With cash and cash equivalents of EUR 26.8 million (31 December 2010: EUR 39.2 million), PNE WIND AG has a strong basis for the further development of wind farm projects in Germany and abroad. Furthermore, a consistently high equity ratio of around 40 percent (31 December 2010: around 41 percent) is a stable financial foundation of the Group.
An important factor for the company development in the first nine months of the fiscal year was the offshore department. Offshore wind power is becoming increasingly seen as a supporting pillar in the energy mix of the future and is supported by the federal government accordingly. PNE WIND AG is benefiting from this, as a project developer with more than a decade of experience in this area and six own offshore projects, two of which have already been approved, they are excellently positioned in the market.
This is how PNE WIND also made significant progress in the last nine months with the furthest developed own offshore project “Gode Wind II”. Both the contracts on the delivery of 84 wind turbines with the manufacturer Vestas and also the preliminary agreements for all additional components, have been signed. The unconditional approval for the grid connection by the network operator TenneT is available. With the completion of the negotiations with the equity investors, which are in the decisive, exclusive phase, the project is just about to enter the construction phase.
Martin Billhardt, Chairman of the Management Board of PNE WIND AG : “The Group result of the first nine months reflects our efforts in future projects – this particularly applies to the expansion of the offshore area. The planned implementation of the project “Gode Wind II” will enable us to reap the fruits of our labour. We therefore maintain our forecast, which, according to the EBIT of PNE WIND AG, will amount to at least EUR 60 to 72 million in the fiscal years 2011 to 2013.”
[mappress]
Source: pnewind, November 08, 2011