Hexicon interim report January–September 2023
”Following the intense work during earlier quarters to secure financing, the third quarter has been marked by a core focus on maturing our key projects, leveraging the financial flexibility obtained.”
JULY-SEPTEMBER 2023
- Net revenue amounted to SEK 0.8 (0.4) million
- Operating profit/loss was SEK -27.6 (-56.2) million
- Profit/loss before tax for the period was SEK -44.3 (-61.1) million
- Earnings per share basic and diluted was -0.14 (-0.33) SEK
- Cash flow from operating activities was SEK -80.4 (-29.0) million
HIGHLIGHTS DURING AND AFTER THE QUARTER
Following the successful closing of financing in Q2, the third quarter has been focused on project developments, maturing projects, and achieving several important milestones across the portfolio.
The Korean MunmuBaram project has entered late-stage development, thus its development costs are being capitalised.
Convertible loans of SEK 82.5 million were repaid with interest, and the revolving credit facility of SEK 75 million was secured, which is complementary to the development loan facility that was entered into during Q2'2023, allowing for further development of the portfolio.
After the quarter, a permit application was submitted in Sweden for a 2,500 MW offshore wind farm, Dyning, with a potential to generate 10 TWh annually, equivalent to a large nuclear reactor.
COMMENT FROM CEO MARCUS THOR:
FOCUS ON MATURING THE PORTFOLIO
Following the intense work during earlier quarters to secure financing, the third quarter has been marked by a core focus on maturing our key projects, leveraging the financial flexibility obtained. As an effect of such recent efforts, MunmuBaram has reached the level of maturity for its development costs to now be capitalised, reducing our operating loss. Separately, we continue to prioritise the developments in Sweden and a high workload during the period led to a third permit application being submitted just after the third quarter. Over in South Africa, one of our prospects off Richards Bay has now started the environment impact assessment and, as such, has been redefined into a project.
Since our project portfolio has now reached a high level of maturity, with significantly improved predictability, we have decided to start making valuations of the project portfolio. These valuations will be made regularly by an external party, and we will communicate the outcome going forward.
From a global perspective, the offshore wind industry continues to develop quickly and in a positive way, but not without some road bumps. During the quarter, leading industry players have announced increased project costs, throughout the entire value chain, as a result of rising inflation and interest rates. In many leading European countries, the auction rounds are in full swing, with mixed results. In Germany and The Netherlands, recent auctions have been successful, while the UK round in September ended without bids. At the same time, we continue to see heavy political initiatives to accelerate investments in offshore wind. The EU has set a target of 60 GW of offshore wind power by 2030. To reach this target and to further speed up the transition to renewable energy production in Europe, the EU, in late October, launched a game-changing initiative called the European Wind Power Action Plan. The initiative will double the funding available for cleantech manufacturing under the next call of the EU Innovation Fund to EUR 1.4 billion, accelerate permitting, facilitate financing and more. It provides a comprehensive framework and support system for companies like Hexicon, ultimately bolstering the success and growth of the floating offshore wind sector in Europe.
Third application filed in Sweden
The activity in the Swedish offshore wind market has continued to be high in the quarter. Freja Offshore, our joint venture with Mainstream Renewable Power, has now submitted three applications for offshore wind farms during 2023. The first two, Mareld and Cirrus, were filed in the second quarter and recently, the application for Dyning was submitted. Dyning is located on Sweden's east coast between the mainland and Gotland. With the potential to deliver 10 TWh per year, Dyning can meet more than the entire energy needs of Sörmland and Östergötland, while barely being visible from land. Hence, Hexicon continues to make value adding actions and grow our global project portfolio.
TwinHub schedule adjustments
As previously communicated, Hexicon was the winner of the British floating wind auction that was held in 2022 with the 32 MW TwinHub project. The economics of the project has so far not been affected to any great extent relative to many other projects globally, in this changed macro situation. This is partly due to the revenue under the CfD (Contract for Difference) accounting for inflation, as well as the project having locked in certain supply chain costs. However, the TwinHub schedule has been affected by disturbance in the value chain, which has led to an adjustment of our estimated time plan for construction start and commissioning to late 2024 and 2026 respectively.
South Korean project maturing
Also worth noting is that one of our two South Korean projects, MunmuBaram, has now reached the level of maturity at which we have decided to start capitalising project development costs. This has resulted in an improved operating result for Hexicon as of the third quarter. However, it is not affecting our cash-flow which continues to mirror our continued investments in our project portfolio.
At the beginning of the summer, we secured development financing with Glennmont Partners of up to EUR 45 million. This agreement gives us the financial flexibility needed to effectively develop our project portfolio and optimise the timing of selective divestments. At the beginning of the third quarter, another agreement was entered into for a credit facility of up to SEK 75 million, issued by, among others, the Wallenius group, which ensures financing of non-project-related expenses and working capital. The withdrawal of funds linked to these financing agreements has started during the third quarter.
Good long-term conditions
The macroeconomic challenges are undeniably affecting our industry. This, among other things, leads to longer transaction times in our ambition to sell selective projects. However, Hexicon's operations continue to develop according to plan. We now have financing agreements and plans in place that fit well with our strategy for the next year. This means we can drive the right projects to the right timing of realisation of the significant potential they hold. In addition, we see an increasingly strong public opinion and political will for increased investments in large-scale offshore wind power, which provides very good long-term conditions for a company like Hexicon.
Marcus Thor
CEO
PRESENTATION
Friday November 17, at 10:00 CET, the company’s CEO Marcus Thor will provide an update of the operations in a webcast.
Link to the webcast: https://ir.financialhearings.com/hexicon-q3-2023
LINK TO THE REPORT
The report will be available for download at: https://www.hexicon.dev8.qte.nu/investors/reports-presentations/