Development and construction help Voltalia lift Q1 revenues

French renewable power plants operator Voltalia SA (EPA:VLTSA) saw its revenues for the first quarter of 2018 rise by 4% in annual terms to EUR 38 million (USD 46.4m), it announced last week.

The improvement came thanks to the company’s services business, encompassing the development, construction and procurement and operation and maintenance (O&M) of power plants. The segment boosted its revenues to EUR 19.1 million from EUR 10.6 million a year ago, with the main driver being sales from development, construction and procurement. They came in at EUR 14 million, more than doubling from EUR 5.3 million in the first quarter of 2016.

The increase was partly offset by the appreciation of the euro against most currencie, CEO Sebastien Clerc noted.

In the energy segment, Voltalia experienced a 3% year-on-year drop in sales to EUR 26.8 million. When calculated at constant exchange rates, however, the result was 11% higher due to growing revenues in Brazil and improved operating performance in France, Voltalia said.

During the reporting period, the group was involved in the construction of projects in France, including 23.4 MW of solar and 5.1 MW of biomass, and also worked for third party clients, including a photovoltaic (PV) plant in the UK and projects in Italy and Tanzania.

"Looking forward, new projects in France, Egypt, Morocco, Brazil, French Guiana and Myanmar will contribute to both Energy sales and Services revenues", the CEO said.

The company’s power plants generation in the first quarter was 400 GWh, mainly coming from plants in Brazil.

Voltalia had 508 MW of installed capacity and some 411 MW under construction or in advanced development at the end of 2017. It has set a goal of having 1 GW of own capacity by 2020.

(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.221)

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