Strong interest in NTR assets

NTR has received a number of expressions of interest for its remaining US assets, but doesn’t anticipate a sale to conclude until at least the second quarter of next year.

The Dublin-headquartered renewable energy-focused utility formally put its US wind energy assets up for sale last month, at which time it said that initial bids were expected in the New Year.

Speaking yesterday, on the back of a strong set of first-half results, group chief executive Rosheen McGuckian said that interest has been shown, but any sale before the end of NTR’s current financial year, at the end of March, is “highly unlikely”.

NTR, yesterday, reported a first-half profit of €5.4 million, for the six months to the end of September, a €3.5m – or 184% – increase on the same period last year. This was the third consecutive profitable reporting period for the group since returning to profit in its last financial year.

The interim figures were in line with management’s guidance, but were heavily skewed by favourable foreign exchange movements. Without those favourable movements, NTR’s profits would have amounted to only around €700,000 for the period. The company’s aforementioned US operations drove first half growth and will create a revenue vacuum when sold, until NTR’s planned new European expansion starts delivering.

That new strategy will ultimately see the group invest €400m in a new 150 megawatt wind farm portfolio across the island of Ireland, Britain and Scandinavia. The company will directly invest €50m of that, with €100m coming from co-investor equity (discussions have already begun) and €250m coming from debt financing, of which €100m has already been secured.

Commenting on yesterday’s figures, Ms McGuckian said: “These results are tracking to our previous guidance that, with stable revenues and continued tight management of costs, the group should record underlying profits of mid-single digit millions each year.

“In addition, we are making excellent headway in acquiring new wind projects that return double digit annual cash yields over 20 years and NTR expects to be in construction during 2015 on a number of projects.”

Yesterday’s results also showed that NTR continues to be debt free, while first half earnings per share were up by 4.6c to 5.1c.