Impairments push Swedish wind co Arise into deeper Q3 loss

Swedish onshore wind farm developer Arise AB (STO:ARISE) saw its net loss expand to SEK 173 million (USD 136.5m/EUR 117m) in the third quarter (Q3) of 2017 from SEK 22 million a year back as sales dropped.

The widened loss was attributed to the recognition of SEK 152 million in impairments on the company’s assets in relation to its own wind power activities and wind power development, Arise said on Friday. In the year-ago period no impairments were recorded.

Seasonality also contributed to the inferior performance as a result of lower-than-usual wind speeds, CEO Daniel Johansson explained.

Pre-tax loss before the impairment amounted to SEK 21 million, as compared to SEK 22 million a year before. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) in the three months came at SEK 19 million, down from SEK 21 million.

Arise’s Q3 net sales declined to SEK 42 million from SEK 77 million. The average income from the company’s own power production rose to SEK 417 per MWh from SEK 416 per MWh. Due to weaker winds and a reduction in its wind power capacity, production from own wind farms decreased to 63 GWh from 68 GWh, while that from co-owned wind power facilities fell to 44 GWh from 53 GWh. Overall, production was 107 GWh, down from 121 GWh in Q3 2016.

For the first three quarters of the year, the Swedish firm booked a net loss of SEK 184 million, widening from SEK 51 million a year earlier. Net sales contracted to SEK 197 million from SEK 303 million. Wind power production was slightly higher at 433 GWh, as compared to 402 GWh in January-September 2016.

Looking ahead, Arise remains optimistic about the price trend for electricity but said keeping the profitability of its own and co-owned wind farms remains challenging. “We continue to develop our projects and are engaged in several interesting discussions with the aim to expand the project portfolio,” the CEO noted.

(SEK 1.0 = USD 0.789/EUR 0.676)

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