Boralex: Financial results for the third quarter of 2013

MONTREAL, Nov. 6, 2013 /PRNewswire/ - Boralex Inc.  ("Boralex" or the "Corporation") (TSX: BLX) announced its financial results for the third quarter of 2013. Revenues from energy sales totalled $28.7 million and adjusted earnings before interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization ("EBITDA") amounted to $11.6 million. These results were slightly down compared with the same period in 2012 largely due to the shutdown of operations at the Kingsey Fall thermal power station at the end of 2012. Excluding the Kingsey Falls power station's contribution to results in the third quarter of 2012, Boralex's revenues and EBITDA grew by about 10% during the current quarter.

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

The hydroelectric segment, which benefited from favourable water flow conditions, particularly in the U.S, recorded a 52% increase in production compared with the same quarter of 2012, exceeding the historical average by 13%.  Production in the wind power segment for the quarter was down 12% compared with the third quarter of 2012 owing to less favourable wind conditions, both in France and Ontario.

"Boralex's sound financial health allows us to seize potential growth opportunities in France and Canada while completing projects currently under development, without having to resort to equity markets. Therefore, Boralex is on track to double its installed capacity and EBITDA by the end of 2016," stated Patrick Lemaire, President and CEO. He added "We also erected the last of the 126 wind turbines of Phase I of the Seigneurie de Beaupré Wind Farms at the end of October, and we will commission 272 MW in December, 2013."

Boralex continued to grow during the third quarter of 2013 with the commissioning of the Vron wind power site in France. Growth will be maintained with the commissioning of the La Vallée wind power site in France in November, Phase I of the Seigneurie de Beaupré wind farms in Québec, Canada in December, and the Jamie Creek hydroelectric power station in British Columbia, Canada in January.

Last, Boralex completed several financial transactions in recent weeks, namely the refinancing of two U.S. hydroelectric power stations (US$90 million), the financing of Jamie Creek ($55 million), Vron (€14 million) and Phase II of the Seigneurie de Beaupré wind farms ($166 million). The closing of these transactions demonstrate the quality of the assets developed by Boralex and the confidence of the global financial markets in the Corporation.

Furthermore, Boralex's total cash position amounted to $156 million as at September 30, 2013, a $44 million increase compared with the position as at the same date in 2012.

About Boralex
Boralex is a power producer whose core business is dedicated to the development and the operation of renewable energy power stations. Currently, the Corporation operates an asset base with an installed capacity of almost 500 MW in Canada, the Northeastern United States and France. Boralex is also committed under power development projects, both independently and with Canadian and European partners, to add approximately 550 MW of power that will be put in service by the end of 2015. With more than 200 employees, Boralex is known for its diversified expertise and in-depth experience in four power generation types - wind, hydroelectric, thermal and solar. Boralex's shares and convertible debentures are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker symbols BLX and BLX.DB, respectively. More information is available at www.boralex.com or www.sedar.com.

Certain statements contained in this press release, including those regarding future results and performance, are forward-looking statements based on current expectations, within the meaning of securities legislation. Boralex would like to point out that, by their very nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties such that its results or the measures it adopts could differ materially from those indicated by or underlying these statements, or could have an impact on the degree of realization of a particular projection. The main factors that could lead to a material difference between the Corporation's actual results and the projections or expectations set forth in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the general impact of economic conditions, raw material price increases and availability, currency fluctuations, volatility in the selling price of electricity, the Corporation's financing capacity, negative changes in general market conditions and regulations affecting the industry, as well as other factors discussed in the Corporation's filings with the various securities commissions.

There can be no assurance as to the materialization of the results, performance or achievements as expressed or implied by forward-looking statements. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. Unless required to do so under applicable securities legislation, Boralex management does not assume any obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect new information, future events or other changes.

The summarized financial statements included in this press release also contain certain non-IFRS financial measures. In order to assess the performance of its assets and reporting segments, Boralex uses EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net earnings, cash flows from operations and adjusted cash flows from operations as performance measures. Management believes that these measures are financial indicators widely accepted by investors to assess the operational performance of a company and its ability to generate cash through operations. These non-IFRS measures are drawn primarily from the unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements accompanying this press release, but do not have a standardized meaning under IFRS; accordingly, they may not be comparable to similarly named measures used by other companies.

Consolidated Financial Statements

Consolidated Statements of Financial Position

Consolidated Statements of Loss

Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss)

Consolidated Statements of Changes in Equity

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

Segmented Information

The Corporation's power stations are grouped into four distinct operating segments - wind, hydroelectric, thermal and solar power. The Corporation operates under one reportable segment: power generation. The classification of these segments is based on the different cost structures relating to each of the four types of power stations. The same accounting rules are used for segmented information as for the consolidated accounts.

The operating segments are presented according to the same criteria used to prepare the internal report submitted to the segment leader who allocates resources and assesses operating segment performance. The President and Chief Executive Officer is considered the segment leader, who assesses segment performance based on power production, revenues from energy sales, EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net loss, cash flows from operations and adjusted cash flows from operations.

EBITDA

EBITDA does not have a standardized meaning under IFRS; accordingly, it may not be comparable to similarly named measures used by other companies. Investors should not view EBITDA as an alternative measure to, for example, net earnings, or as a measure of operating results, which are IFRS measures.

EBITDA is reconciled to the most comparable IFRS measure, namely, net loss attributable to shareholders of Boralex, in the following table:

Adjusted EBITDA

The following four tables reconcile wind, hydroelectric and corporate segment as well as consolidated EBITDA as reported in the financial statements with adjusted EBITDA:

Adjusted Net Loss

The following table reconciles net loss attributable to shareholders of Boralex as reported in the financial statements with adjusted net loss:

Cash flows from operations and adjusted cash flows from operations

Cash flows from operations are equal to net cash flows related to operating activities before the change in non-cash items related to operating activities. Management uses this measure to assess cash flows generated by the Corporation's operations and its capacity to finance its expansion through those funds. In light of the seasonal nature of the Corporation's operations and development activities, changes in non-cash items can vary considerably. In addition, development activities result in significant changes in Trade and other payables during the construction period, as well as an initial injection of working capital at project start-up. Accordingly, the Corporation considers it more representative not to integrate changes in non-cash items in this performance measure.

Investors should not consider cash flows from operations as an alternative measure to cash flows related to operating activities, which is an IFRS measure.

Cash flows from operations and adjusted cash flows from operations are reconciled to the most comparable IFRS measure, namely, net cash flows related to operating activities, in the following table:

Information by Operating Segment

Information by Geographic Segment

Subsequents Events

Joint Ventures - Seigneurie de Beaupré: Phases I and II

On October 24, 2013, a motion for authorization to institute a class action and be granted representative status was filed with the Superior Court of Québec against Seigneurie de Beaupré Wind Farms Phases I and II. The applicants of the motion are requesting authorization from the Court to institute a class action on behalf of a group of persons regarding allegations of, without limitation, neighbourhood disturbances (noise, dust, etc.) experienced as a result of the construction of Seigneurie de Beaupré Wind Farms. The merits of the class action have not yet been established.

On October 29, 2013, the Corporation completed long-term financing for Seigneurie de Beaupré wind farms: Phase II, located in Québec, Canada, that will be disbursed in November 2013 and January 2014. The non-recourse loan is secured by all of the assets of the wind farm and amounts to $166,119,000, consisting of a short-term bridge financing and a letter of credit facility totalling $23,674,000, as well as a $142,445,000 construction loan that will convert into a term loan following commercial commissioning of the power station planned for December 2014. The term loan will be fully amortized by quarterly payments over a 19.5-year period and will bear interest at a fixed rate of 5.66% over the term of the loan.

SOURCE Boralex Inc.