Solar yieldco 8point3 exceeds guidance in Q2

Solar park in California equipped by First Solar. Author: Russ Ferriday. License: Creative Commons, Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic

US solar power yieldco 8point3 Energy Partners LP (NASDAQ:CAFD) on Wednesday reported cash available for distribution (CAFD) of USD 10.3 million (EUR 9.3m) for its second fiscal quarter, exceeding its guidance for USD 6 million-7.5 million.

Revenue, net loss and adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) in the three months to May 31 were also above guidance.

The company, a joint venture between US solar majors First Solar Inc (NASDAQ:FSLR) and SunPower (NASDAQ:SPWR), has further adjusted its Right of First Offer (ROFO) portfolio replacing one First Solar project, the 250-MW Moapa, with the 280-MW California Flats scheme scheduled for commissioning in 2018. It said this reflected the extension of the federal Investment Tax Credit, which increased the opportunity to acquire projects beyond 2016 and its desire to finance acquisitions on favorable terms, while maintaining a conservative capital structure.

Below are more details about the company's financial results and guidance:

Figure (in USD)	Q2	Q3	Year to Nov 30
Revenue	13.5 million	23-24 million	57.1-59.1 million
Adjusted EBITDA	17.4 million	29-30 million	68.8-70.8 million
Net income (loss)	(0.2 million)	10-11 million	1.8-3.8 million
CAFD	10.3 million	20-21 million	71.0-73.5 million
Distribution per share	0.2325	0.2406	n/a

8point3 last week announced a second-quarter distribution of USD 0.2325, a 3.5% increase over the previous quarter. It will be paid on July 15. The forecast distribution for the third quarter also represents a 3.5% increase quarter-on-quarter.

"As of the end of May, our portfolio consisted of interests in 525 megawatts (MW) of solar generating assets and we remain confident that with this asset portfolio, we will be able to achieve our targeted distribution growth rate of 12 to 15 percent through 2017," said chief executive Chuck Boynton.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.902)

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