Built a portfolio of operating assets through seven acquisitions, transforming the Company’s business in Sweden and increasing annual power generation by over 500 GWh to a total of 800 GWh by year end 2022
Established an experienced organisation and organic growth platform in Sweden with the knowledge, network and competence to operate and optimise the asset base, continue growing through acquisition and extend asset lifetimes through repowering, life extension and expansion projects
The Karskruv project remains on track for completion by end 2023 with construction activities ahead of schedule and will deliver an additional 290 GWh of annual power generation, bringing the Company’s annual estimated power generation to 1,100 GWh from 2024 onwards
Added new opportunities to increase the power generation capacity of the Company including greenfield projects, and expansion projects with wind, solar and battery storage within the existing asset base, with the aim of becoming a full cycle renewable company with a significant long-term growth pipeline
In early 2023, the Company expanded its geographical footprint to France and Germany in addition to the Nordic portfolio with the intention of expanding further into Europe
Consolidated financials
Cash flow from operating activities amounted to MUSD 13.7 for the quarter, an increase from MUSD 5.4 in the previous quarter
Proportionate financials
Proportionate1 power generation amounted to 168 GWh for the quarter, representing a 100 percent increase compared to the previous quarter
Achieved price for the quarter amounted to EUR 88 per MWh, resulting in proportionate EBITDA of MUSD 9.7
Low proportionate net debt of MUSD 13.1 at year end, with debt capacity of over 250 MUSD to fund further growth
Financial Summary2 Orrön Energy owns renewables assets directly and through joint ventures and associated companies and is presenting proportionate financials to show the net ownership and related results of these assets. The purpose of the proportionate reporting is to give an enhanced insight into the Company’s operational and financial results.
Expressed in MUSD
1 Jan 2022- 31 Dec 2022 12 months
1 Oct 2022- 31 Dec 2022 3 months
Consolidated financials
Revenue
14.5
11.9
EBITDA
4.7
6.8
Operating profit (EBIT)
1.0
3.7
Net result
28.9
0.6
Earnings per share – USD
0.10
0.00
Earnings per share diluted – USD
0.10
0.00
Proportionate financials1
Power generation (GWh)
335
168
Revenue
42.2
15.3
EBITDA
21.8
9.7
Operating profit (EBIT)
15.5
6.5
Average price achieved per MWh – EUR
120
88
1 Proportionate financials represent Orrön Energy’s proportionate ownership (net) of assets and related financial results, including joint ventures. For more details see section “Key Financial Data” in the Company’s year end report 2022. 2This table refers to continuing operations. The financial and operational performance of the discontinued operations can be found in the sections “Discontinued Operations” and in note 6 of the consolidated financial statements in the Company’s year end report 2022.
Comment from Daniel Fitzgerald, CEO of Orrön Energy AB 2022 has been a remarkable year for Orrön Energy and its predecessor Lundin Energy. We started 2022 as Lundin Energy, a Norwegian focused oil and gas company which had invested in renewable energy projects in the Nordics as part of its plan to achieve carbon neutrality. During the course of the first six months of 2022, we completed the sale of the entire oil and gas business and retained the renewables assets and enough cash to continue to grow as Orrön Energy, a pure play renewables company. From July onwards we have successfully grown our estimated annual power generation by over two and a half times through acquisitions and established an organic growth platform with cash generating assets in the Nordics.
As we enter 2023, we will continue to focus on developing our core business in the Nordics, and I am excited to announce that we will expand our business by adding greenfield opportunities in Sweden, Finland, France and Germany to continue to deliver on our long-term growth ambitions. We see vast opportunities for investments in renewable energy projects in many jurisdictions, backed by increasing demand for green energy as a means to reach climate targets across the Nordics and the EU. We welcome the streamlining and acceleration of permitting processes as recently announced by the EU, which is set to significantly shorten the timeframe for new developments. This is also a clear theme throughout the Nordics, with several political initiatives being discussed. Given the urgency regarding climate change, and society’s need for clean energy, we simply must see a faster pace when it comes to permitting and construction of renewable energy projects. This will enable us, and others, to accelerate investments in the renewables space and continue to contribute to the energy transition.
Volatile market with electricity prices expected to remain high Markets have seen exceptional turmoil and volatility in 2022, with electricity prices rising to unprecedented levels, in the wake of growing demand and the prevailing energy crisis with Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine as a dark backdrop. Although we have seen some normalisation of pricing, structural underinvestment in oil and gas, combined with Europe’s dependence on gas and thermal generation means that we have a long way to go before cheap energy returns to households in Europe. As a result, temporary measures to address surging electricity prices are being implemented by governments across Europe. The measures, such as price caps and taxes, are generally coming into effect at quite high electricity prices, and for limited periods of time and are therefore expected to have a limited impact on the Company’s financial results. We have been, and remain, largely spot market exposed to electricity prices and believe that this is the best way to generate maximum returns over the long term.
We achieved an average electricity price during the quarter of EUR 88 per MWh, where the difference between achieved price and the system price was explained by capture price discounts for the Company’s wind power assets and historical hedges linked to acquired companies. Capture price discounts have historically been the largest during periods of high electricity prices and high volatility, where a majority of our electricity may be generated during lower priced periods within any given month, which is what we observed during the quarter and particularly in November. Less than five percent of the Company’s estimated production in 2023 will be impacted by historical hedges, and none will continue beyond the end of 2023.
Power generation in the Nordics – our core business Since transforming into a renewables Company in the beginning of July 2022, we have increased our estimated annual power generation from 300 to 800 GWh in the Nordics. This is, and will remain, a core focus for Orrön Energy, ensuring we maintain a diversified portfolio of power generating assets delivering strong cash flows. Our growth in production has been achieved by acquiring portfolios, companies and assets in Sweden and successfully integrating these into our operating base. The majority of our assets are wind farms located in historically high-priced regions, and we have started feasibility studies for a range of projects aiming to increase generation capacity, efficiency, revenues and extending asset lifetimes. At the same time, we are looking at the potential to add solar power and battery storage solutions to our operational wind assets, to both grow and complement the power generation profiles. This asset optimisation work forms a core part of our organic growth strategy to unlock further value from the portfolio.
Our proportionate power generation amounted to 168 GWh for the fourth quarter, which is double that of the third quarter, primarily as a result of acquisitions. Notwithstanding this growth, the weather conditions in the quarter were poorer than expected, leading to lower power generation. Our business will continue to be exposed to weather conditions leading to variable generation levels between seasons and years. We also had to finalise some commissioning activities on MLK, which were unable to be fully completed during the summer of 2022, with lost revenues largely compensated by liquidated damages from manufacturer warranties. Our key development project, Karskruv remains on track for completion by the end of 2023, which is set to take the Company’s annual estimated power generation to 1,100 GWh from 2024 onwards.
Significant financial capacity to fund growth The electricity prices in the fourth quarter softened compared to the third quarter, but remained at historically high levels and contributed to proportionate revenues of MUSD 15.3, and proportionate EBITDA of MUSD 9.7 for the quarter. Cash flow from operating activities amounted to MUSD 13.7 for the quarter, increasing from MUSD 5.4 in the third quarter. We finished the year with a proportionate net debt position of MUSD 13.1 and coupled with over 250 MUSD of debt capacity from our existing asset base, we have significant financial capacity to fund further growth.
Expanding our footprintacross Europe Despite our remarkable growth during the second half of 2022, we still see many opportunities to continue to grow the business. As such, I am excited to share some updates on how we plan to continue to deliver on our growth trajectory and create long-term value for our shareholders.
Firstly, we will expand our business in Sweden and Finland to include greenfield project origination and development and strengthen our organisational capacity with an experienced team in this field, allowing us to become a full cycle renewable company. We have reached an agreement with a like-minded partner having a strong network in Finland, where we will seek to replicate the successful organic growth platform we have established in Sweden.
Secondly, we will expand our geographical footprint to include France and Germany, initially with a focus on greenfield project origination and development. These countries have some of the most ambitious renewables targets and are planning to rapidly increase renewable energy developments, which are fully supported by the growth ambitions of the EU. Similarly to what we are doing in Finland, we have reached an agreement with a greenfield development team which has the competence to both develop and run operations in these countries. I am confident that over time, like in our Swedish business, we will be able to build a full cycle business with greenfield opportunities, project development, operating assets, and the potential for life extension, re-powering and optimisation in each of these countries. We continue to screen opportunities to expand our footprint in both technology and geography and I expect to see Orrön Energy expand into further markets in the coming years.
Looking forward to another exciting year We have had a fantastic start in 2022, and even though our journey has only just begun, I am convinced that we will be able to continue to create value for shareholders. We enter 2023 with a pipeline of exciting opportunities, new business ventures and partners, and with the resolve and financial firepower to continue to create value through the energy transition. I would like to thank all our loyal shareholders for your continuous support, and to extend a warm welcome to our new shareholders joining Orrön Energy in 2022.
Webcast with Capital Markets Day presentation Listen to Daniel Fitzgerald, CEO and Espen Hennie, CFO commenting on the report and presenting the latest developments in Orrön Energy and its future growth strategy, together with members of Orrön Energy’s management team, at a webcast held today at 14:00 CET. The presentation will be followed by a question-and-answer session.
This information is information that Orrön Energy AB is required to make public pursuant to the Securities Markets Act. The information was submitted for publication, through the contact persons set out above, at 07.30 CET on 15 February 2023.
Orrön Energy is an independent, publicly listed (Nasdaq Stockholm: “ORRON”) renewables company within the Lundin Group of Companies. Orrön Energy’s core portfolio consists of high quality, cash flow generating assets in the Nordics, coupled with greenfield growth opportunities in the Nordics and Europe. With significant financial capacity to fund further growth and acquisitions, and backed by a major shareholder, management and Board with a proven track record of investing into, leading and growing highly successful businesses, Orrön Energy is in a unique position to create shareholder value through the energy transition.
Forward-looking statements Statements in this press release relating to any future status or circumstances, including statements regarding future performance, growth and other trend projections, are forward-looking statements. These statements may generally, but not always, be identified by the use of words such as “anticipate”, “believe”, “expect”, “intend”, “plan”, “seek”, “will”, “would” or similar expressions. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that could occur in the future. There can be no assurance that actual results will not differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements due to several factors, many of which are outside the company’s control. Any forward-looking statements in this press release speak only as of the date on which the statements are made and the company has no obligation (and undertakes no obligation) to update or revise any of them, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
