BW Ideol: Third Quarter 2023 Results
HIGHLIGHTS
MATURING PROJECTS UNDER DEVELOPMENT
- Buchan Offshore Wind submitted Offshore Scoping Report as first major consenting process step
- Offshore installation of electrical hub on the EolMed project
- South Brittany bid submitted in October and preparation for Mediterranean bid submission early 2024
- Signed MoU with Port Talbot (Wales) for feasibility study of concrete floaters serial production
SECURING ADDITIONAL FUNDING AND MAINTAINING STRICT CASH DISCIPLINE
- BW Ideol and ADEME Investissement finalise agreement for joint offshore floating wind development company and completes first financial closing on October 3rd with EUR 17.9 million initial funding from ADEME Investissement
- YTD 2023 engineering revenue of EUR 2.4 million
- Cash position of EUR 2.0 million at end of September 2023
- YTD 2023 operating cash-burn of EUR 5.2 million
RECOMMENDED VOLUNTARY OFFER TO ACQUIRE ALL SHARES IN BW IDEOL AS
- Offer by BW Sirocco Holdings AS, supported by 84.7% of existing BW Ideol shareholders, including BW Offshore, Kerogen Capital, Larochette Invest SARL, certain other investors and management
- Offer price of NOK 12 per share to be settled in cash or shares in BW Sirocco Holdings AS
- Offer is recommended by the independent members of the Board of Directors
- Intention to delist the company from Euronext Growth upon completion of the offer to facilitate access to growth capital
BW Ideol continues to make good progress in executing its dual-leg strategy as co-developer of floating wind projects and as EPCI contractor of floating wind technology by maturing ongoing projects and adding new opportunities to the project pipeline.
RECOMMENDED VOLUNTARY OFFER
On 9 November, BW Sirocco Holdings AS announced a recommended voluntary offer to acquire all outstanding shares in BW Ideol AS not already being held by the Initiating Shareholders (as defined further below) at an offer price of NOK 12 per share to be settled in cash or shares in BW Sirocco Holdings AS (the “Offer“). The offer price represents a premium of 42.2% to the closing price of the shares on 8 November 2023. The independent members of the board of directors of BW Ideol recommend shareholders to accept the offer.
BW Offshore Limited, Kerogen Capital Limited, Larochette Invest SARL and certain other existing investors and management shareholders of BW Ideol (collectively the “Initiating Shareholders”) holding 84.7% of the shares outstanding in BW Ideol have entered into agreements to contribute their shares to BW Sirocco Holdings AS upon and subject to completion of the Offer. BW Sirocco Holdings AS’ intention is to conduct a compulsory acquisition of any remaining shares held by minority shareholders following completion of the Offer and delist BW Ideol from Euronext Growth Oslo.
FINANCIALS AND FUNDING
Revenue for the first nine months of 2023 was EUR 2.4 million, mainly related to design and engineering activities in France, Norway, UK, Japan, the US and Canada. This compares with EUR 5.1 million for the same period of 2022. Operating loss before depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the period was EUR 5.3 million compared to EUR 2.2 million in the same period of 2022.
At 30 September 2023, total equity was EUR 82.4 million and the equity ratio was 72%. Total cash was EUR 2.0 million, compared to EUR 9.1 million at 31 December 2022. Interest-bearing debt was EUR 9.8 million, which includes a EUR 5.0 million shareholder loan.
On 5 July, BW Ideol and ADEME Investissement signed the final agreement for a EUR 40 million funding of BW Ideol’s project co-development activities which were transferred to BW Ideol Projects Company SAS. On 3 October, the two companies completed the financial closing as planned with an initial investment of EUR 17.9 million in the projects company. Following this, BW Ideol owns 75.81% of the projects company.
The state-owned French financier of innovative infrastructure projects will increase its holding over time as further projects are matured and financed. BW Ideol manages the development company through a service agreement and retains full ownership of its other business activities and assets.
At the end of September 2023, the Company had drawn EUR 5.0 million under the BW Offshore and Noria shareholder loan. BW Ideol continues to explore various options to cover the Company’s long-term financing requirements.
OPERATIONS
At the end of September 2023, BW Ideol had 1 GW of projects under development and approximately 3.7 GW of substantiated pipeline. Business development activity is high as nations and corporations seek ways to decarbonise various industry value chains. According to DNV’s Energy Transition Outlook 2023, global wind electricity generation is set to grow by a CAGR of 8% to 18,300 TWh from 2022 to 2050, with onshore representing 91% of the production at the start of the period and 70% in 2050. Offshore wind will expand significantly in the period with floating wind set represent 5% of the total wind power generation or approximately 950 TWh in 2050, compared to close to zero today.
In early October, Buchan Offshore Wind submitted its Offshore Scoping Report to the Scottish Government’s Marine Directorate, representing the first major step within the consenting process for the 960 MW floating wind farm off the northeast coast of Scotland. The Scoping Report contains details of the planned project and the Environmental Impact Assessment approach, with stakeholders being encouraged to provide comments and participate in the scoping process.
The BW Ideol Projects Company has a 33.3% equity holding in Buchan Offshore Wind Limited. BW Ideol will design the floating foundations based on its proven and patented Damping Pool® technology and holds an Initial Lease Agreement with the Ardersier Port in Scotland for a concrete floater production line to address the regional market.
Also in the UK, BW Ideol and ABP (owners of Port Talbot) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to investigate the feasibility of serialised production of concrete substructures for floating foundations based on the BW Ideol design in Port Talbot in preparation for the forthcoming Celtic Sea leasing round announced by The Crown Estate. ABP is separately running its own process to identify potential partners to assist it in the development and financing of the infrastructure upgrade works required at Port Talbot.
Assembly of the three floating offshore wind turbines for the 30 MW EolMed project progressed at Port-la Nouvelle, France, with prefabricated steel blocks forming the floating substructures based on BW Ideol’s patented Damping Pool design. The offshore installation of the electrical hub was completed in the quarter. The Company provides design support to construction and T&I (transport and installation) contractors during the execution phase. BW Ideol has 5% ownership in the project.
The collaboration with the EDF Renewables and Maple Power consortium for the 250 MW AO5 floating offshore wind tender near coast of South Brittany continued with bid-submission in October as a major milestone. License award is expected in February 2024. BW Ideol also cooperates with EDF Renewables and Maple Power on the design of floating foundations for the AO6 floating wind tender in the Mediterranean Sea covering two 250 MW sites. The consortium has been preselected for the AO6 tender with submission planned in early 2024.
BW Ideol continues to progress projects and collaborations across multiple regional markets including in the Iberian Peninsula, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea… The Company also progresses several other initiatives including detailed studies for power-to-platform projects in collaboration with BW Offshore.
Floatgen floating unit installed offshore western France produced 0.73 GWh of renewable power during the third quarter and at the end of the September produced 27.5 GWh of electricity with high availability since commissioning, reflecting the seakeeping performance of BW Ideol’s proprietary Damping Pool design.
OUTLOOK
BW Ideol has set a goal to be involved in an approximately 10 GW gross portfolio of floating wind projects by 2030 by developing the existing pipeline and strong joint venture partnerships, through scaling and optimisation of the patented Damping Pool® technology, and by developing the global organisation and leveraging the partnership with BW Offshore, including in the power-to-platform market. The Group considers itself to be ahead of plan for the 10 GW target based on the recent progress. The rapid global expansion of the commercial scale floating wind market supports a continued strong market outlook.
Please find attached the third quarter 2023 presentation.
For further information, please contact:
Nicolas de Kerangal, Chief Financial & Partnerships Officer at BW Ideol, +33 (0) 7 76 87 70 08, ir@bw-ideol.com
This information is considered to be inside information pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation and is subject to the disclosure requirements according to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. This stock exchange announcement was published by Marie Bayard-Lenoir, Chief of Staff, on 9 November 2023 at 18:28 CET.
About BW Ideol:
BW Ideol is a leading fully integrated platform in floating offshore wind with more than 12 years of experience from design, execution and development of floating wind projects based on our patented floating offshore wind technology and engineering capabilities. The company has a dual-leg growth strategy as a floater EPCI and maintenance services provider and as a wind-farm project developer and co-owner. BW Ideol has two full-scale offshore floating wind turbines in operation in France and Japan, a significant project pipeline, and is supported by BW Offshore’s extensive experience from developing and operating offshore energy production systems.
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