GLO Contourglobal Plc

TIDMGLO

RNS Number : 5131Y

ContourGlobal PLC

13 May 2021

13 May 2021

ContourGlobal plc

Trading Update

ContourGlobal plc (the "Company"), an international owner and operator of contracted wholesale power generation businesses, today issues a trading update for the period from 1 January 2021 to 31 March 2021.

Joseph Brandt, Chief Executive Officer, said, "We had a positive start to 2021. The business has performed in line with expectations and the ongoing integration of our newly acquired 1.5 GW assets in the US and Caribbean is progressing well. We are pleased to confirm the first quarter dividend payment of 4.465 cents per share, representing a 10% year-on-year growth in line with our dividend policy. This is underpinned by strong operating cash flows and 5% year-on-year growth in Q1 Adjusted EBITDA. We continue to focus on growth with a robust pipeline of attractive opportunities."

Strong operating and financial performance

-- Continued industry leading Health and Safety performance with a zero Lost Time Incident Rate ("LTIR") in the first 3 months of 2021.

-- Operational performance remains strong with an average availability factor of 98.1% for the thermal fleet and 95.8% for renewable, compared to 96.4% and 96.2% respectively for the comparable period last year.

-- The Company will pay a dividend for Q1 2021 of 4.465 cents per share / 3.1675 pence per share[1], equivalent to $29.3 million[2] to be paid on 11 June 2021. This is in line with the Company's commitment to an annual 10% increase in dividend per share.

-- Adjusted EBITDA up 4.6% from $172.7 million to $180.6 million, reflecting the contribution (+$11 million) from the Western Generation Portfolio acquisition completed on 18 February 2021.

-- Strong cash flow generation with Funds from Operations ("FFO") reaching $102.2 million in Q1 2021, a 37% increase over Q1 2020, mainly explained by growth in Adjusted EBITDA (+$7.9 million) and increased distributions from minority interests in Colombia (+$8.2 million).

-- Significantly improved cash conversion (FFO / Adjusted EBITDA) of 57% in Q1 2021, compared to Q1 2020 (43%), driven by the acquisition of Western Generation Portfolio, distributions from minority interests mentioned above and lower maintenance capex given a significant maintenance investment in our Spanish CSP assets in Q1 2020.

-- Cash flows and overall business continue to be well protected from potential inflation increases. 82% of Adjusted EBITDA is inflation protected, while 88% of total debt is with fixed interest rates providing a significant hedge against potential rising interest rates. Assets with inflation linked revenues have an average contract life of 10 years. Assets without inflation linkages (comprising 18% of Adjusted EBITDA) have long-term fixed interest rate financing.

-- The Company has restarted the process to monetize its renewables business in Brazil suspended last year due to COVID-19 and continues to explore other transactions that unlock intrinsic value for shareholders.

Western Generation Portfolio

On February 18 2021, we completed the acquisition of 12 thermal and combined heat and power assets in the US and Trinidad & Tobago. Since completion, the portfolio has contributed $11 million to Adjusted EBITDA. The integration of the US and Trinidad & Tobago assets is on track compared to the previously communicated integration timeline and operational performance is as expected.

 
 
  Group Operational highlights 
                                     Q1 2021   Q1 2020   Change 
                       -----------  --------  --------  ------- 
     GWh produced       Thermal       3,349     3,149     6.4% 
---------------------               --------  --------  ------- 
  Renewable                           1,019      923     10.3% 
 ---------------------------------  --------  --------  ------- 
   MW in operation      Thermal       4,496     3,031    48.3% 
---------------------               --------  --------  ------- 
  Renewable                           1,798     1,815    -0.9% 
 ---------------------------------  --------  --------  ------- 
 Availability factor    Thermal       98.1%     96.4%     1.8% 
---------------------               --------  --------  ------- 
  Renewable                           95.8%     96.2%    -0.3% 
 ---------------------------------  --------  --------  ------- 
 
 
 Financial highlights 
 In $ millions                  Q1 2021   Q1 2020   Change 
                               --------  --------  -------- 
 Revenue                          427       356     +19.9% 
                               --------  --------  -------- 
 Income from Operations           76        76       +0.5% 
                               --------  --------  -------- 
 Adjusted EBITDA*                 181       173      +4.6% 
                               --------  --------  -------- 
   Thermal Adj. EBITDA            122       114      +7.0% 
                               --------  --------  -------- 
   Renewable Adj. EBITDA          67        69       -2.9% 
                               --------  --------  -------- 
   Corporate and other costs      -8        -10     -20.0% 
                               --------  --------  -------- 
 Proportionate Adjusted 
  EBITDA*                         146       138      +5.7% 
                               --------  --------  -------- 
 Funds from Operations 
  (FFO)*                          102       75      +37.2% 
                               --------  --------  -------- 
 Net Profit                        9         3      +178.1% 
                               --------  --------  -------- 
 Adjusted Net Profit*             17        32      -46.1% 
                               --------  --------  -------- 
 

*Non-IFRS metrics

Outlook

ContourGlobal's business model is highly resilient with stable and predictable cashflows. We reiterate our guidance for 2021 Adjusted EBITDA in the range of $770 million - $800 million[3] and maintain our dividend policy of a 10% annual increase in dividend per share.

Enquiries

Investor Relations - ContourGlobal

Alice Heathcote

+44 203 626 9077

alice.heathcote@contourglobal.com

investor.relations@contourglobal.com

Media - Brunswick

Charles Pretzlik / Will Medvei

Tel: +44 (0) 207 404 5959

Contourglobal@brunswickgroup.com

About ContourGlobal

ContourGlobal is listed on the premium segment of the London Stock Exchange (TKR: GLO). ContourGlobal is an international owner and operator of contracted wholesale power generation businesses with approximately 6.3 GW in operation in 20 countries. ContourGlobal operates a portfolio of 117 thermal and renewable power plants across Europe, North America, Latin America, and Africa utilizing a wide range of technologies.

Cautionary note regarding forward-looking statements

These results include statements that are, or may be deemed to be, "forward-looking statements". These forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the terms "believes", "estimates", "anticipates", "expects", "intends", "plans", "goal", "target", "aim", "may", "will", "would", "could" or "should" or, in each case, their negative or other variations or comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements include all matters that are not historical facts. They appear in a number of places throughout these results and the information incorporated by reference into these results and include statements regarding the intentions, beliefs or current expectations of the directors or the Company concerning, amongst other things, the results of operations, financial condition, liquidity, prospects, growth, strategies and dividend policy of the Company and the industry in which it operates.

By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future and may be beyond the Company's ability to control or predict. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. The Company's actual results of operations, financial condition, liquidity, dividend policy and the development of the industry in which it operates may differ materially from the impression created by the forward-looking statements contained in these results and/or the information incorporated by reference into these results. In addition, even if the results of operations, financial condition, liquidity and dividend policy of the Company and the development of the industry in which it operates, are consistent with the forward-looking statements contained in these results and/or the information incorporated by reference into these results, those results or developments may not be indicative of results or developments in subsequent periods.

Other than in accordance with its legal or regulatory obligations, the Company does not undertake any obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

[1] Based on fixed FX rate GBGBP1 = US$ 1.4096534

[2] Based on 655,770,162 shares in issue as at May 11 2021, excluding shares held in Treasury

([3]) Assuming 2021 exchange rates of EUR/USD 1.19 and BRL/USD 0.18

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May 13, 2021 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)