Wind helps Boralex boost Q1 net profit

Canadian renewables developer Boralex Inc (TSE:BLX) said on Wednesday its first-quarter attributable net profit rose by 24% year-on-year to CAD 20 million (USD 15.6m/EUR 13.1m) a year before.

As a result, earnings per share improved to CAD 0.26 from CAD 0.21 in the year-ago period, according to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Boralex attributed the improvement to energy sales, which grew following the acquisition and commissioning of new power plants and increased output of its wind farms in France.

Revenues from energy sales in the three months were up 28% to CAD 152 million as the company lifted its adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) by 19% to CAD 104 million.

“First quarter results provide a clear picture of our achievements over the past year,” commented Patrick Lemaire, president and CEO of Boralex.

Power generation increased to 1,055 GWh from 909 GWh, representing a year-on-year improvement of 16%. This came mostly as a result of contributions from wind parks that Boralex acquired and commissioned in 2017. Its existing wind power facilities raised their output by 4% thanks to favourable wind conditions in France, which was just partially offset by the decreased generation of its hydropower plants in Canada and the US.

At present, the total installed capacity of Boralex amounts to 1,619 MW. The Canadian firm recently added 163 MW to its portfolio with the acquisition of French wind power business Kallista Energy Investment SAS, which also has a 158-MW project portfolio.

Boralex aims to reach an installed capacity of 2,000 MW by 2020.

(CAD 1.0 = USD 0.779/EUR 0.657)

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