NZ Windfarms may have increased its electricity sales revenue by 911% for the first nine months of the financial year but Forsyth Barr has cut its full year revenue forecast for the company 17% because of expected lower prices.The windfarm company –
NZ Windfarms may have increased its electricity sales revenue by 911% for the first nine months of the financial year but Forsyth Barr has cut its full year revenue forecast for the company 17% because of expected lower prices.
The windfarm company – which is looking to raise another $31.4 million in an eight-for-three cash issue at 15c designed to hold off insolvency – released its third quarter operating statistics today.
This figures show that revenue from electricity generated from its Te Rere Hau wind farm so far this financial year had risen from $307,000 to $3.1 million, while its electricity generation output for the third quarter rose from 6035 MWh to 20,103 MWh.
Although this was a 232% increase, it was still lower than expected, due to below average wind months at the start of the quarter, while the turbines were de-rated from 500kw to 400kw in January.
However, the company did see some better than expected results in the third quarter, with turbine availability at 96.8%, 1.8% of the company’s prospectus assumption, while the average price of $75.86/MWh was also stronger than anticipated.
The windfarm company also unveiled further good news by revealing it had sold all of the carbon credits earned during 2008 and 2009 for $594,112.50 at an average price of $18.75 a tonne, ahead of the prospectus assumption of $15.
The company has recently resolved its dispute with Windflow Technology over turbine certification and the Te Rere Hau wind farm is now operating close to capacity but the company will be unable to avoid the effect of weather patterns on electricity prices.
In a note issued today by Forsyth Barr, analyst Andrew Harvey-Green said heavy rain in the South Island had seen hydro lakes fill to 111% of average and with the levels expected to rise, it is anticipated that fourth quarter electricity prices will see a corresponding fall.
This factor, combined with a lower full-year production forecast, has seen Forsyth Barr lower its full year revenue forecast by 17% to $5.4 million, with a 74% cut in forecasted ebitda to $0.3 million.
Despite this, the market has reacted positively to NZ Windfarms’ operating update, with the share price (NZX:NWF) up by 8.7% in this afternoon’s trading to 25c.
