PNE is on target after the first nine months of 2018

The internationally operating project developer PNE is well on target at the end of the third quarter of 2018, both in operational and in financial terms. This has resulted from the quarterly statement published today by the Group.

Successful operational development

In its core business, the project planning and realisation of wind farms, PNE is, as expected, well on its way, both nationally and internationally. In the first nine months of 2018, wind farms with a nominal output of around 37.4 MW have already been completed and commissioned in Germany and France – including projects with around 27.2 MW managed by us as a service provider. 

As at September 30, 2018, further wind farm projects with a nominal output of approx. 93.2 MW were under construction in Germany, France and Sweden. Of these, one project with 25.2 MW will be built by PNE in the form of a service project. In addition, a wind farm project with a nominal output of 12 MW was sold in France.

Tenders won for onshore and offshore projects

The "Gode Wind 4" offshore project developed by PNE was awarded a contract in the second German tender for offshore wind farms in 2018 as one of six projects. For the "Gode Wind 3" project, PNE received a further milestone payment of approx. euro 4 million in the second quarter of 2018. For the "Borkum Riffgrund 2" project, also developed and sold by PNE, Ørsted (formerly DONG Energy) has almost completed construction work. In this connection, PNE received a milestone payment of approx. euro 4 million in the third quarter.

The implementation of "scale up" is proceeding according to plan

Markus Lesser, CEO of PNE AG: "Based on our successful core business, we are going to develop into a clean energy solution provider as part of our scale-up expansion strategy. Our expanded strategy is beginning to bear fruit, and we have already been able to provide initial services to customers - for example in the areas of construction management and financing. These and other services will significantly strengthen our service business in the future. This is an important step, especially against the backdrop of regulatory uncertainties and changes."

A further milestone achieved as part of the implementation of the "scale up" strategy was the increase in the stake in the Husum-based subsidiary WKN from 83.1 percent to 100 percent, which took place in the reporting period. This will strengthen the existing operational integration of the two companies and will support additional synergies and an increase in productivity through the further optimisation of procedures and processes.

Results for the first nine months on target

The implementation of the strategy and the realisation of ongoing projects initially require upfront expenditure. The figures for the first three quarters of 2018 should also be seen against this backdrop. In the first nine months of 2018, the Group generated sales of euro 39.9 million (prior year: euro 81.2 million), total aggregate output of euro 57.7 million (prior year: euro 101.8 million) and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of euro 10.6 million (prior year: euro 28.2 million), operating profit (EBIT) of euro 3.7 million (prior year: euro 23.7 million) and undiluted earnings per share of euro -0.03 (prior year: euro 0.21).

Unrealised gains from the 2020 wind farm portfolio are growing continuously

Since 2017, PNE has continuously expanded the "2020 wind farm portfolio", which is owned by the Company, and created values as a result. The earnings before tax accrued in this portfolio to date – not yet realised at the Group level – amount to approx. euro 20.9 million since 2017 (of which approx. euro 8.5 million in the first nine months of 2018). The fixed assets and the liabilities to banks from project financing within the Group will increase up to the complete or partial sale of the "2020 wind farm portfolio".

Outlook confirmed

The key indicators of the first nine months of 2018 are well on target and show that PNE can also achieve positive results during the investment phase. In addition, various national and international projects are due for implementation in the fourth quarter. PNE therefore reaffirms its 2018 guidance with clearly positive EBIT in the range of euro 10 to 16 million and EBITDA in the range of euro 20 to 26 million at Group level.

The quarterly statement has been published today on the Company’s website www.pne-ag.com.