NEOEN SA (EPA:NEOEN) - Very strong growth in Neoen’s full-year 2018 revenue

Transparency directive : regulatory news

20/02/2019 21:00

MEDIA RELEASE

Paris, February 20, 2019

              Very strong growth in Neoen's full-year 2018 revenue

* Revenue surged 63% to EUR227.6 million (up 70% at constant exchange rates)
* All this growth was organic: Neoen commissioned close to 400 MW and launched
  the construction of over 730 MW in additional capacity during the year
* Neoen is reiterating its business and profitability targets for 2018 and 2021

Neoen (ISIN: FR0011675362, Ticker: NEOEN), France's leading independent
producer of renewable energy and one of the fastest-growing worldwide, is
reporting unaudited full-year revenue of EUR227.6 million for the year ended
December 31, 2018. This 63% increase compared to 2017 was driven solely by
organic growth. At constant exchange rates, revenue rose by 70% compared to the
previous year.

Xavier Barbaro, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Neoen, commented:
"Neoen performed very well in 2018-a year marked by both the success of our IPO
and very strong expansion in our business. Not only is the revenue we are
reporting today substantially higher than last year-we generated almost EUR90
million more in revenue over the past 12 months-it is also very robust. We hold
onto assets for the long haul, which gives us highly recurrent revenue streams,
and possess long-term power purchase agreements with prime counterparties.
Thanks to our tight cost control, we are reiterating our EBITDA guidance of
EUR170 million to EUR175 million for 2018. From a medium-term perspective, we
are also reiterating our guidance for EBITDA and installed capacity under
construction out to 2021 on the strength of the progress we made on our
projects under development and the growth outlook for our businesses."

2018 FY Revenue - Operating and financial data

                                   Dec. 31, 2018     Dec. 31, 2017      Chg.
2018 FY Revenue - Operating data
Installed capacity (MW)*                   1,492             1,101     +391
Installed capacity and under
construction (MW)*                         2,256             1,526     +731
Electricity generation (GWh)               2,258             1,360     +66%

2018 FY Revenue - Financial data (EUR m)
Solar                                       80.3               55.7    +44%
Wind                                       107.6               72.6    +48%
Biomass                                     20.6                7.6   +171%
Storage                                     17.9                0.6     n/a
Energy sales                               226.6              136.5    +66%
Services                                     1.1                2.7    -60%
Consolidated revenue                       227.6              139.3    +63%

* Gross capacity including stakes held by co-shareholders in projects in which
Neoen has a minority interest: Cestas (228 MW) and Seixal (8.8 MW)

Operational summary

The steep increase in Neoen's business during 2018 was chiefly driven by the
consolidation over the full year of the assets that were commissioned during
2017 and by the new power plants that started up in 2018. At December 31, 2018,
Neoen had 1,492 MW in capacity in service, with 391 MW in additional capacity
connected compared to year-end 2017. Over the 12-month period, the asset base
generated 2,258 GWh of green electricity (up 66%). Asset performance broadly
lived up to expectations, with even higher power plant availability rates than
in the previous year and a load factor that rose to 17.8% in solar energy and
stood at a high level of 33.3% in wind energy.

Given its substantial contribution to the mix, the grid storage business (as
opposed to "behind the meter" storage solutions, which cannot be split off from
green electricity generation) is now presented in the same way as Neoen's other
longstanding business segments. It currently reflects only the Hornsdale Power
Reserve (HPR, 100 MW/129 MWh) power plant, which was commissioned in December
2017. HPR's performance was ahead of expectations owing to its technical
characteristics (particularly its highly responsive approach).

Financial summary

From a financial perspective, wind energy was Neoen's largest revenue source in
2018. It  contributed EUR107.6 million (up 48%) or 47% of its consolidated
revenue. Solar energy sales grew 44% to EUR80.4 million, or 35% of Neoen's
consolidated revenue. Neoen's biomass plant in France generated revenue of
EUR20.6 million, demonstrating its ability to operate consistently at cruising
speed.

Lastly, the grid storage business generated revenue of close to EUR18 million.
That figure breaks down into EUR2.7 million in fixed revenue from the AEMO,
reflecting HPR's availability as a contingency storage capacity provider, and
EUR15.2 million in revenue generated by the two battery-related merchant
activities, i.e. the sale of ancillary grid services (FCAS) and arbitrage.

Including the EUR15.2 million in commercial revenue from the storage business,
the proportion of Neoen's revenue in 2018 contributed by merchant activities
rose to 12.2% from 11.8% in 2017. Some of this merchant revenue is temporary.
For example, solar or wind power plants may sell electricity prior to the entry
into force of a long-term power purchase agreement (which forms the core of
Neoen's business model). That was the case for the Coleambally (189 MWp) solar
power plant in Australia during 2018.

A geographical analysis shows that Australia and Europe accounted for 53% and
40% of Neoen's revenue respectively. The Americas region, where the 101 MWp
Providencia solar power plant (El Salvador) was the only one active by year-end
2018, contributed 7% of Neoen's revenue.

Highlights of 2018

- Strong growth in the asset portfolio in operation and under construction
  391 MW in solar and wind energy capacity was commissioned in 2018. In 2018,
  Neoen launched the construction of more than 730 MW in capacity (solar, wind,
  storage) due to be commissioned over the short or medium term.

- Reinforcement and extension of our geographical clusters

o Australia is the group's principal geographical area: in mid-2018, Neoen
   announced that it had broken through the one-gigawatt mark in terms of its
   capacity in service and under construction at facilities in Australia. Since
   then, it has commissioned 189 MW at Coleambally, the largest solar power
   plant in service in Australia.

o The Europe / Africa region continues to grow: as well as in France, Neoen
   also expanded in Finland where in the same year it hired a local team,
   completed the development of the Hedet (81 MW) wind energy project, inked a
   power purchase agreement with Google and launched construction of the
   facility. In Zambia, the 54 MWp Bangweulu solar power plant, which was due
   to enter service in late 2018, will be connected to the grid shortly.

o The Americas region is ramping up: Neoen launched the construction of a 51
   MWp solar project in Jamaica and a second 140 MWp solar project in El
   Salvador combined with a 3 MW/1.5 MWh storage facility. The development and
   financing of the 375 MWp Aguascalientes solar facility (Mexico), and of the
   208 MWp La Puna and Altiplano solar power plants (Argentina), continued to
   advance on schedule.

- Further accomplishments underpinning Neoen's leadership in storage
HPR's excellent performance demonstrated the benefits of Neoen's strategy of
continuing to develop energy storage solutions across all its markets, either
to complement the projects it operates ("behind the meter") or connected
directly to the grid. To date Neoen has total capacity of 135 MW in storage
facilities in service or under construction. Three new projects were launched
in 2018: Bulgana (Australia), Azur (France), Capella (El Salvador).

Webcast: Neoen will comment on its full-year 2018 revenue and operational
highlights in a live webcast at 8:30am (Paris time) on Thursday, February 21.
To join the webcast live or hear a playback, please click HERE or paste the
following URL into your browser:
https://channel.royalcast.com/neoen/#!/neoen/20190221_2

                         Next financial report:
Full-year 2018 results and project pipeline, April 17, 2019 after market close

About Neoen

Founded in 2008, Neoen is France's leading and one of the world's most dynamic
independent producers (IPP) of renewable energy. With a current capacity of
more than 2 GW already in operation or under construction, and a further 1 GW
of projects formally awarded and secured, Neoen has doubled its size in over
just 18 months. Neoen is active in France, Australia, Mexico, El Salvador,
Argentina, Zambia, Jamaica, Portugal, and Finland and has assets in more than
15 countries. It operates Europe's most powerful solar PV farm (300 MW in
Cestas, France) and the world's largest lithium-ion power reserve in Hornsdale,
Australia (100 MW/129 MWh storage capacity). At the end of 2017, Neoen won one
of the largest (375 MW) and the most competitive solar project in Mexico. Neoen
is targeting 5 GW capacity in operation and under construction by 2021. Neoen
(ISIN Code: FR0011675362, ticker: NEOEN) is listed since October 2018 on the
Compartiment A of the regulated market of Euronext Paris.
For more information: www.neoen.com

Investors
Neoen

Axelle Vuillermet
Tel.: +33 (0)7 77 68 62 34
axelle.vuillermet@neoen.com

Press
Havas Paris

Camille Houel
Tel.: +33 (0)6 44 34 40 81
camille.houel@havas.com

Individual shareholders
NewCap

Mathilde Bohin
Tel.: +33 (0)1 44 71 94 95
mbohin@newcap.fr

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NEOEN SA (EPA:NEOEN) - Very strong growth in Neoen’s full-year 2018 revenue

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