taken from iii24 Jan 2011 10:26
Read the 6 months to 30 Sept results posted to RNS board on 23 December 2010. Read the Chairman's statement and you'll see that they are striving for breakeven even using 75% of their current operational capacity. You'll also see that IEL talk about shifting admin and management functions to India from Guernsey, reducing the size of the board (James Pockney recent RNS leaving the board), and the move to talk to strategic investors outside of traditional UK institutions (goes some way to explaining why certain funds have been selling out - in fact these funds may not be allowed to invest in companies without a UK registered office - IEL might well close theirs in future). Also finally, the Chairman recognises its 53p NAV and the need to secure value for shareholders and that it wants an investor with financial firepower or wind assets to help it build critical mass. IEL with a market cap of just over £5m looks ripe for a takeout.
Interim Results for the six months ended 30 September 2010
Financial highlights:
- Revenue increased to £2.306m (2009 H1: £1.422m).
- Adjusted EBITDA increased to £0.890m profit (unadjusted £0.597m, 2009 H1: profit of £0.290m and loss of £1.116m respectively).
- Loss after tax decreased to £0.767 (2009 H1: £1.983).
- NOPAT loss decreased to £0.151m (2009 H1: £1.574m).
- Positive net cash flow from operations, before movements in working capital of £0.417m (2009 H1: £0.360m negative).
- Net asset value per share of 53p (2009 H1: 58p).
- Further cost reduction underway.
Operational highlights:
- Increased operational capacity to 41.3 MW (2009 H1: 24.8 MW).
- Identified pipeline of projects.
- Signed two memoranda of understandings for a total of 250 MW of capacity over the next 2 years.
- Optioned 50 MW project with Suzlon.
Commenting on the results, Rupert Strachwitz, CEO, said:
"The first half of the year has been a challenging one, but we have nevertheless been able to turn in a creditable performance. We continue to examine options for funding the future development of the business and, as part of this, have engaged with a number of strategic investors which may or may not lead to an offer for the business. Meanwhile we are also focusing very hard on reducing our overheads, conserving cash, and making further strides towards operational breakeven."
Chairman's statement
The first half year has been a testing time for Indian Energy.
Wind power generation has been disappointing, due to two main factors: First, wind resource at the Gadag project has been lower than forecast, following another bad monsoon in Karnataka. Second, the Theni project in Tamil Nadu was only fully commissioned during August, later than our original target of 30 June 2010. This was due to grid connection issues outside our control, meaning that we missed a significant part of the peak monsoon season. However, we expect that both projects will