Atlantica Yield Reports Third Quarter 2016 Financial Results


  • Strong operating results for the quarter, with $295.3 million in revenue representing a 10% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year 
  • Profit for the quarter attributable to the Company of $33.0 million, a 28% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year
     
  • Further Adjusted EBITDA including unconsolidated affiliates[1] of $264.3 million for the quarter, a 21% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year
     
  • Net cash provided by operating activities increased by 17% to $184.4 million for the third quarter
     
  • Cash Available For Distribution ("CAFD") of $53.8 million[2] for the quarter
     
  • Dividend declared of $ 0.163 per share

BRENTFORD, United Kingdom, Nov. 14, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --  Atlantica Yield ("ABY"), the sustainable total return company that owns a diversified portfolio of contracted assets in the energy and environment sectors, reported strong operating results in the third quarter of 2016. Revenues for the first nine months of 2016 amounted to $763.0 million, representing a 32% increase from the comparable period of 2015 and Further Adjusted EBITDA, including unconsolidated affiliates, amounted to $626.8 million, a 30% increase compared with the same period of the previous year.

Net cash provided by operating activities increased by 27% compared to the same period of the previous year and reached $302.2 million. CAFD[3] for the nine-month period ended September 2016 reached $112.1 million.

Highlights

 Nine-month period ended September 30,
(in thousands of U.S. dollars) 2016   2015 
Revenue$ 762,950  $ 575,914 
Profit for the period attributable to the Company   9,658     25,195 
Further Adjusted EBITDA incl. unconsolidated affiliates[4]$ 626,786  $ 483,435 
Net cash provided by operating activities   302,192     237,293 
CAFD3$  112,123  $ 141,671 



Key Performance Indicators  

 Nine-month period ended September 30,
  2016   2015 
Renewable energy   
MW in operation[5] 1,442   1,441 
GWh produced 2,587   2,041 
Conventional power   
MW in operation[5] 300   300 
GWh produced[6] 1,799   1,845 
Electrical availability[6][7] (%) 97.7%  101.8%
Electric transmission lines   
Miles in operation 1,099   1,099 
Availability[7] (%) 99.9%  99.7%
Water   
Capacity (Mft/day)[5] 10.5   10.5 
Availability[7] (%) 102.3%  101.1%

Segment Results

 

(in thousands of U.S. dollars)
Nine-month period ended
September 30,
 2016 2015 
Revenue by Geography    
North America$   275,340  $  259,811  
South America 88,164   80,249  
EMEA 399,446   235,854  
Total revenue$  762,950   $  575,914  
     
Further Adjusted EBITDA incl. unconsolidated affiliates by Geography    
North America$  244,220  $  232,036  
South America 93,553   80,794  
EMEA 289,013   170,605  
Total Further Adjusted EBITDA incl. unconsolidated affiliates$  626,786   $  483,435   
  
 

(in thousands of U.S. dollars)
Nine-month period ended
September 30,
 
  2016   2015  
Revenue by business sector    
Renewable energy$  578,256  $   397,839  
Conventional power 94,921   100,015  
Electric transmission lines 70,735   61,284  
Water 19,039   16,776  
Total revenue$  762,950  $  575,914  
 

 

Further Adjusted EBITDA incl. unconsolidated affiliates by business sector
    
Renewable energy$  448,992  $  322,135  
Conventional power 80,124   80,256  
Electric transmission lines 79,909   64,740  
Water 17,760   16,304  
Total Further Adjusted EBITDA incl. unconsolidated affiliates$   626,786  $   483,435  

During the third quarter, our portfolio performed steadily in line with expectations. At Solana, we continued to perform the scheduled improvements required at the plant.  Mojave and Kaxu exceeded expectations in the first nine months of 2016. In Spain, our portfolio of solar assets continued to show excellent operational performance during the summer season. Solar radiation was better than expected across all our geographies.  Our wind assets in Uruguay have shown stable performance, although wind levels continue to be lower than expected this year. 

Regarding our availability-based assets, our transmission line assets showed excellent performance and exceeded the contractual targets once again.  Our conventional and water-segment assets have comfortably achieved forecasted availability levels.

Liquidity and Debt

As of September 30, 2016, consolidated cash and cash equivalents amounted to $673.4 million, of which $85.8 million was cash available at the Atlantica Yield corporate level. In addition, cash classified as short-term financial investments at the project level amounted to $95.4 million. As a result, total liquidity including short-term financial investments amounted to $768.8 million as of September 30, 2016.

As of September 30, 2016, net project debt and net corporate debt amounted to $5,025.2 million and $585.8 million, respectively. The net corporate debt / CAFD pre-corporate debt service ratio[8] is 2.7x, below our stated target of 3x.

Net project debt is calculated as long-term project debt plus short-term project debt minus cash and cash equivalents at the project level. Net corporate debt is calculated as long-term corporate debt plus short-term corporate debt minus cash and cash equivalents at Atlantica Yield corporate level.

Dividend declared

On November 11, 2016, our Board of Directors approved a dividend of $0.163 per share expected to be paid on or about December 15, 2016 to shareholders of record as of November 30, 2016.

Considering the current status of waivers and forbearances on cross-default and minimum ownership provisions, the Board continues to be prudent and has approved a dividend with the same reasoning as last quarter, which is to declare a divdend based on the percentage of cash generated by  the assets not requiring any waivers. The percentage used increased from 40% to 45% to reflect the likelihood of securing some additional waivers in the short term. We expect to review upcoming quarterly dividends as we secure additional waivers and forbearances.

Changes in the Board of Directors

On November 11, 2016, Atlantica Yield's Board of Directors accepted the resignation of Mr. William B. Richardson, to whom the Board of Directors expresses its gratitude for services rendered. Mr. Richardson was one of the directors appointed by Abengoa and has been on the Board of Directors since the initial public offering. Joaquin Fernandez de Pierola was appointed as Director by Abengoa in accordance with our articles of association, with immediate effect. Mr Fernandez de Pierola is the Chief Executive Officer of Abengoa.

Details of the Results Presentation Conference

Atlantica Yield's CEO, Santiago Seage, and its CFO, Francisco Martinez-Davis, will hold a conference call today, November 14th, at 8:30 am EST.

In order to access the conference call participants should dial: +1 866 305 9104 (US) / +44 (0) 203 043 2434 (UK). A live webcast of the conference call will be available on Atlantica Yield's website. Please visit the website at least 15 minutes earlier in order to register for the live webcast and download the necessary audio software.

Additionally, Atlantica Yield's management will be in New York, Boston and Dallas this week to meet with investors.

Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, all statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this prospectus, including, without limitation, those regarding our future financial position and results of operations, our strategy, plans, objectives, goals and targets, future developments in the markets in which we operate or are seeking to operate or anticipated regulatory changes in the markets in which we operate or intend to operate. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as "aim," "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "guidance," "intend," "is likely to," "may," "plan," "potential," "predict," "projected," "should" or "will" or the negative of such terms or other similar expressions or terminology. 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. Our actual results of operations, financial condition and the development of events may differ materially from (and be more negative than) those made in, or suggested by, the forward-looking statements.

Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated above include, among others, general economic conditions, changes in government expenditure budgets, challenges in making acquisitions, changes in public support of renewable energy, weather conditions, legal challenges to regulations, changes to subsidies and incentives that support renewable energy sources, government regulations, the volatility of energy and fuel prices, counterparty credit risk, failure of customers to perform under contracts, our ability to enter into new contracts as existing contracts expire, reliance on third-party contractors and suppliers, failure of newly constructed assets to perform as expected, failure to receive dividends from assets, changes in our tax position, unanticipated outages at our generation facilities, the condition of capital markets generally and for yieldcos in particular our ability to access capital markets, adverse results in current and future litigation, developments at Abengoa, S.A. and our ability to maintain and grow our quarterly dividends. Furthermore, any dividends are subject to available capital, market conditions, and compliance with associated laws and regulations. These factors should be considered in connection with information regarding risks and uncertainties that may affect Atlantica Yield's future results included in Atlantica Yield's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov.

Atlantica Yield undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or developments or otherwise. investors.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures We present non-GAAP financial measures because we believe that they and other similar measures are widely used by certain investors, securities analysts and other interested parties as supplemental measures of performance and liquidity. The non-GAAP financial measures may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures of other companies and have limitations as analytical tools and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of our operating results as reported under IFRS as issued by the IASB. Non-GAAP financial measures and ratios are not measurements of our performance or liquidity under IFRS as issued by the IASB and should not be considered as alternatives to operating profit or profit for the year or any other performance measures derived in accordance with IFRS as issued by the IASB or any other generally accepted accounting principles or as alternatives to cash flow from operating, investing or financing activities.
We define Further Adjusted EBITDA including unconsolidated affiliates as profit/(loss) for the period attributable to the Company, after adding back loss/(profit) attributable to non-controlling interest from continued operations, income tax, share of profit/(loss) of associates carried under the equity method, finance expense net, depreciation, amortization and impairment charges, and dividends received from the preferred equity investment in ACBH.

Our management believes Further Adjusted EBITDA including unconsolidated affiliates is useful to investors and other users of our financial statements in evaluating our operating performance because it provides them with an additional tool to compare business performance across companies and across periods. This measure is widely used by investors to measure a company's operating performance without regard to items such as interest expense, taxes, depreciation and amortization, which can vary substantially from company to company depending upon accounting methods and book value of assets, capital structure and the method by which assets were acquired. Further Adjusted EBITDA including unconsolidated affiliates is also used by management as a measure of liquidity.

Our management uses Further Adjusted EBITDA including unconsolidated affiliates as a measure of operating performance to assist in comparing performance from period to period on a consistent basis and to readily view operating trends, as a measure for planning and forecasting overall expectations and for evaluating actual results against such expectations, and in communications with our Board of Directors, shareholders, creditors, analysts and investors concerning our financial performance.

We define Cash Available For Distribution as cash distributions received by the Company from its subsidiaries minus all cash expenses of the Company, including debt service and general and administrative expenses. Management believes cash available for distribution is a relevant supplemental measure of the Company's ability to earn and distribute cash returns to investors.

We believe cash available for distribution is useful to investors in evaluating our operating performance because securities analysts and other interested parties use such calculations as a measure of our ability to make quarterly distributions. In addition, cash available for distribution is used by our management team for determining future acquisitions and managing our growth.

  


Consolidated Statements of Operations
(Amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars)

 For the three-month period ended September 30, For the nine-month period ended September 30,
  2016   2015   2016   2015 
  Revenue$  295,272  $  267,345  $  762,950  $  575,914 
  Other operating income 17,218   18,400   47,657   54,776 
  Raw materials and consumables used (6,880)  (8,444)  (24,481)  (18,774)
  Employee benefit expenses (4,747)  (1,083)  (10,596)  (2,877)
  Depreciation, amortization, and  impairment charges (78,900)  (73,642)  (234,403)  (183,992)
  Other operating expenses (59,936)  (64,290)  (176,605)  (148,624)
Operating profit/(loss)$  162,027   $  138,286   $   364,522   $  276,423  
  Financial income 132   (53)  996   3,464 
  Financial expense (101,553)  (98,567)  (304,083)  (234,852)
  Net exchange differences (1,638)  2,759   (4,911)  1,286 
  Other financial income/(expense), net 4,358   1,407   1,175   5,738 
Financial expense, net$  (98,701) $  (94,454) $  (306,823) $ (224,364)
Share of profit/(loss) of associates carried under the equity method 1,760   1,288   5,104   4,630 
Profit before income tax$  65,086  $  45,120   $   62,803  $  56,689  
  Income tax (29,801)  (15,981)  (45,964)  (22,409)
Profit for the period$   35,285   $  29,139   $   16,839   $   34,280 
Loss/(profit) attributable to non-controlling interests (2,271)  (3,271)  (7,181)  (9,085)
Profit for the period attributable to the Company$   33,014   $  25,868   $   9,658   $   25,195  
Weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding (thousands) 100,217   100,217   100,217   90,332 
Basic earnings per share attributable to Atlantica Yield plc (U.S. dollar per share)$  0.33  $   0.26  $  0.10  $ 0.28 


Consolidated Statement of Financial Position
(Amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars)

AssetsAs of September 30, 2016 As of December 31, 2015
Non-current assets   
 Contracted concessional assets$               9,243,143  $   9,300,897 
 Investments carried under the equity method 54,250   56,181 
 Financial investments 66,926   93,791 
 Deferred tax assets 193,837   191,314 
Total non-current assets$  9,558,156   $   9,642,183 
Current assets   
 Inventories 15,014   14,913 
 Clients and other receivables 271,642   197,308 
 Financial investments 238,054   221,358 
 Cash and cash equivalents 673,447   514,712 
Total current assets$   1,198,157   $   948,291 
Total assets$   10,756,313  $   10,590,474 


Equity and liabilities   
 Share capital$                     10,022  $  10,022 
 Parent company reserves 2,284,792   2,313,855 
 Other reserves (26,199)  24,831 
 Accumulated currency translation differences (65,664)  (109,582)
 Retained Earnings (350,897)  (356,524)
 Non-controlling interest 121,994   140,899 
Total equity$  1,974,048   $           2,023,501 
Non-current liabilities   
 Long-term corporate debt$                 663,824  $  661,341 
 Long-term project debt 3,596,976   3,574,464 
 Grants and other liabilities 1,620,857   1,646,748 
 Related parties 107,222   126,860 
 Derivative liabilities 471,611   385,095 
 Deferred tax liabilities 107,740   79,654 
Total non-current liabilities$   6,568,230   $           6,474,162 
Current liabilities   
 Short-term corporate debt 7,834   3,153 
 Short-term project debt 2,015,943   1,896,205 
 Trade payables and other current liabilities 167,549   178,217 
 Income and other tax payables 22,709   15,236 
Total current liabilities$  2,214,035   $   2,092,811 
Total equity and liabilities$  10,756,313  $   10,590,474 

Consolidated Cash Flow Statements
(Amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars)


 
For the three-month period ended September 30, For the nine-month period ended September 30,
  2016   2015   2016   2015 
Profit/(loss) for the period 35,285   29,139   16,839   34,280 
Financial expense and non-monetary adjustments 192,496   168,702   534,749   374,805 
Profit for the period adjusted by financial expense and non-monetary adjustments$  227,781   $  197,841                      $       551,588   $       409,085  
        
Variations in working capital (16,269)  6,304   (57,229)  6,683 
Net interest and income tax paid (27,183)  (46,161)  (192,167)  (178,475)
Net cash provided by operating activities$   184,329   $  157,984                      $       302,192   $       237,293 
        
Investment in contracted concessional assets (101)  (6,627)  (5,952)  (99,797)
Other non-current assets/liabilities (17,250)  551   (19,807)  3,694 
Investments in entities under equity method -   4,163   4,984   4,163 
Acquisitions of subsidiaries and non-controlling interest (14,833)  (275,298)  (33,905)  (757,143)
Net cash used in investing activities$   (32,184) $(277,211                    ) $       (54,680) $     (849,083)
        
Net cash provided by/(used in) financing activities$  (39,283 ) $  253,482                    $     (101,755 ) $       928,442 
        
Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents$   112,862   $                    134,255  $       145,757   $       316,652 
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of the period   554,561   528,164   514,712   354,154 
Translation differences in cash or cash equivalent 6,024   89   12,978   (8,298)
Cash and cash equivalents at end of the period$  673,447   $                   662,508   $       673,447   $       662,508  

Reconciliation of Further Adjusted EBITDA including unconsolidated affiliates to Profit/(loss) for the period attributable to the company

(in thousands of U.S. dollars)For the three-month period ended September 30, For the nine-month period ended September 30,
  2016   2015   2016   2015 
Profit/(loss) for the period attributable to the Company$   33,014  $  25,868  $  9,658  $   25,195 
Profit attributable to non-controlling interest 2,271   3,271   7,181   9,085 
Income tax 29,801   15,981   45,964   22,409 
Share of loss/(profit) of associates carried under the equity method (1,760)  (1,288)  (5,104)  (4,630)
Financial expense, net 98,701   94,454   306,823   224,364 
Operating profit $   162,027  $  138,286  $  364,522  $  276,423 
Depreciation, amortization, and impairment charges 78,900   73,642   234,403   183,992 
Dividend from exchangeable preferred equity investment in ACBH 21,179   4,600   21,179   13,800 
Further Adjusted EBITDA$  262,105  $  216,529  $  620,104  $  474,215 
Atlantica Yield's pro-rata share of EBITDA from Unconsolidated Affiliates 2,157   2,121   6,682   9,220 
Further Adjusted EBITDA including unconsolidated affiliates$   264,262   $  218,650  $  626,786  $   483,435 

Reconciliation of Further Adjusted EBITDA including unconsolidated affiliates to net cash provided by operating activities

(in thousands of U.S. dollars)For the three-month period ended September 30, For the nine-month period ended
 September 30,
  2016   2015   2016   2015 
Net cash provided by operating activities $  184,329  $   157,984  $  302,192   $  237,293 
Net interest and income tax paid 27,183   46,161   192,167   178,475 
Variations in working capital 16,269   (6,304)  57,229   (6,683)
Other non-cash adjustments and other 34,324   18,688   68,516   65,130 
Further Adjusted EBITDA$   262,105  $   216,529  $   620,104   $  474,215  
Atlantica Yield's pro-rata share of EBITDA from unconsolidated affiliates  

2,157
    

2,121
    

6,682
    

9,220
 
Further Adjusted EBITDA including unconsolidated affiliates$  264,262   $   218,650  $   626,786  $   483,435 

Cash Available For Distribution Reconciliation

(in thousands of U.S. dollars)For the three-month period ended September 30, For the nine-month period ended
 September 30,
  2016   2015   2016   2015 
Profit/(loss) for the period attributable to the Company$   33,014  $  25,868  $  9,658  $   25,195 
Profit attributable to non-controlling interest 2,271   3,271   7,181   9,085 
Income tax 29,801   15,981   45,964   22,409 
Share of loss/(profit) of associates carried under the equity method (1,760)  (1,288)  (5,104)  (4,630)
Financial expense, net 98,701   94,454   306,823   224,364 
Operating profit $   162,027  $  138,286  $  364,522  $  276,423 
Depreciation, amortization, and impairment charges 78,900   73,642   234,403   183,992 
Dividend from exchangeable preferred equity investment in ACBH 21,179   4,600   21,179   13,800 
Atlantica Yield's pro-rata share of EBITDA from Unconsolidated Affiliates 2,157   2,121   6,682   9,220 
Further Adjusted EBITDA including unconsolidated affiliates$   264,262   $  218,650  $  626,786  $   483,435 
Atlantica Yield's pro-rata share of EBITDA from unconsolidated affiliates  

(2,157


)
   

(2,121


)
   

(6,682


)
   

(9,220


)
Dividends from equity method investments -   4,163   4,984   4,163 
Non-monetary items (32,686)  (21,447)  (63,605)  (66,417)
Interest and income tax paid (27,183)  (46,161)  (192,167)  (178,475)
Principal amortization of indebtedness (18,792)  (38,573)  (86,897)  (89,236)
Deposits into/ withdrawals from restricted accounts (43,027)  (10,090)  (64,891)  (13,420)
Change in non-restricted cash at project level (90,385)  (62,285)  (71,506)  (2,171)
Dividends paid to non-controlling interests (3,473)  (4,665)  (8,952)  (4,665)
Changes in other assets and liabilities 7,221   21,105   (39,840)  17,677 
ATN2 refinancing -   -   14,893   - 
Cash Available For Distribution[9]$   53,780  $   58,576  $   112,123  $   141,671 

About Atlantica Yield

Atlantica Yield plc is a total return company that owns a diversified portfolio of contracted renewable energy, power generation, electric transmission and water assets in North & South America, and certain markets in EMEA (www.atlanticayield.com). 

 

Chief Financial Officer
Francisco Martinez-Davis
E  ir@atlanticayield.com

 
Investor Relations & Communication
Leire Perez
E  ir@atlanticayield.com
T  +44 20 3499 0465 

 

 




[1] Further Adjusted EBITDA includes our share in EBITDA of unconsolidated affiliates and the dividend from our preferred equity investment in Brazil or its compensation (see reconciliation on page 12).

[2] The third quarter CAFD includes $21.2 million of ACBH dividend compensation in the third quarter of 2016.

[3] CAFD includes $21.2 million of ACBH dividend compensation in the third quarter of 2016 and $14.9 million proceeds of ATN2 refinancing in the first quarter of 2016.

[4] Further Adjusted EBITDA includes our share in EBITDA of unconsolidated affiliates and the dividend from our preferred equity investment in Brazil or its compensation (see reconciliation on page 12).

[5] Represents total installed capacity in assets owned at the end of the period, regardless of our percentage of ownership in each of the assets.

[6] Conventional production and availability were impacted by a periodic scheduled major maintenance in February 2016

[7] Availability refers to actual availability divided by contracted availability.

[8] Based on mid-point of guidance range for CAFD for 2016.

[9] CAFD includes $21.2 million of ACBH dividend compensation in the third quarter of 2016 and $14.9 million proceeds of ATN2 refinancing in the first quarter of 2016.