Voltalia deepens loss in 2022

March 23 (Renewables Now) - French renewable power plants operator Voltalia SA (EPA:VLTSA) saw its net loss widen to EUR 7.2 million (USD 7.9m) in 2022 due to increased depreciation, amortisation and provisions as well as higher net financial expenses.

The company’s bottom line results suffered from the depreciation of power plants that were commissioned over the past two years, coupled with the deconsolidation of wind farms in Brazil. As a result of hedging policies and increased project debt, Voltalia booked a 2% year-on-year rise in net financial expenses that impacted its profitability.

Consolidated earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were largely unchanged from the previous year, coming in at EUR 137.4 million. Before eliminations and corporate items, EBITDA climbed by 8% thanks to the growth in internal activity.

Revenues in the past year were up 31% in annual terms, reaching EUR 469 million. The improvement reflects the higher sales brought by Voltalia’s energy sale business and its services division. The latter benefitted from an uptake in demand for the development and construction of power plants and operations and maintenance on behalf of third parties.

More details about Voltalia’s performance can be seen in the table below.

Amounts in EUR million	2022	2021	Change at current rate	Change at constant rate
Total revenues	469	358.7	+31%	+24%
-- from Energy	244.7	207.9	+18%	+6%
-- from Services	352.3	220.1	+60%	+58%
EBITDA	137.4	137.6	-0.1%	-10%
Eliminations and corporate items	36.3	23.3	+55%	+54%
Depreciation, amortisation and provisions	(81.5)	(75.7)	+8%	0%
Net loss (group share)	7.2	1.3	--	--

At end-2022, Voltalia had already reached its 2023 goal of having 2.6 GW of capacity in operation or under construction. The company closed the year with 1,571 MW of installed capacity in its fleet, half of which comes from wind farms in Brazil, and 1,022 MW of wind, solar and hydropower plants under construction.

Looking ahead, Voltalia reiterated its normalised EBITDA guidance, expecting results in the range of EUR 275 million to EUR 300 million in 2023. The Paris-based company also said it will target over 5 GW of capacity in operation and under construction by 2027, as well as capacity operated on behalf of third parties of over 8 GW. Normalised EBITDA in that year is seen at EUR 475 million.

(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.092)