(Wiesbaden, 13.06.2006) ABO Wind AG concluded the financial year 2005 with a very good annual surplus of Euro 781,257 after tax, thereby more than doubling the previous year’s result. The earnings before interest and taxes, EBIT, amounted to Euro 1,303,423 (previous year: Euro 856,124). “The German wind power industry consolidated at a high level and ABO Wind has emerged as one of the winners from the new order. We are pleased to recommend to the annual general meeting a dividend of 45 cents per share,” said Dr. Jochen Ahn, Executive Management Board of ABO Wind AG.
In financing, the company has two successes to report: ABO Wind was able to take part in the PREPS mezzanine programme, in which, after successful examination of its creditworthiness, the company was able to obtain a subordinated loan at favourable conditions, together with 50 other companies from other industries. These funds have contributed to doubling project sales for 2006 and 2007, in comparison with previous years, to around Euro 70 million per annum. A further success was the “Breeze Two” bond, initiated by Hypovereinsbank, with which ABO Wind financed and sold a total of 83 wind farms in a single deal by March 2006. In collaboration with various German wind power developers, a portfolio of wind farms totalling 330 megawatts of installed capacity could be financed with “Breeze Two”.
Project development was very successful during the past year: Only 24 megawatts of wind power output – of which, 15 megawatts in Germany and nine megawatts in France - were able to be commissioned, however the infrastructure of the Bedburg wind farm with 24 megawatt of installed capacity was accomplished. The wind farm was only unable to be connected to the grid because the turbine manufacturer defaulted on delivery.
At the start of 2006, the company had seven approved and largely financed wind farms available, in addition to Bedburg. During the course of the year, further approvals are anticipated, so that as of the end of the year, at least 30 megawatts are to be newly connected to the grid in Germany and 25 megawatts in France. In Spain, the Executive Board Members expect the crucial grid connection for the “Velez Rubio” project, with 50 megawatts, so that the project will become ready for construction. Furthermore,
there are several projects of four to five megawatts each in progress, as these can be approved using a simplified procedure.
The internationalisation of ABO Wind is advancing: Portugal and Argentina have been added to France and Spain as target markets. Further countries are in preparation and the extent of the projects being processed has been significantly expanded overall. Thus, the company is currently planning wind farms with around 300 megawatts, primarily in European countries outside of Germany.
The “Saxony-Anhalt Biogas Fund” was a great success and could be placed within a few days. The three biogas plants financed by it, with a total of 1.4 megawatts of installed capacity, were connected to the grid in autumn of 2005. The planning of new biogas plants, which are again intended to be offered as public funds in 2006, is advanced. In contrast, the financing and conclusion of supply contracts for the heating power plant, with four megawatts of output, are proving difficult, however ABO Wind anticipates
that the project will be sold during the course of the year.
Overall, the basic attitude toward the development of renewable energy and thus, particularly, wind energy, improved again in 2005, in fact, this has taken place worldwide, which can be easily seen from the significantly longer delivery periods for wind farms. ABO Wind is continuing to rely mainly on the development of wind farms and intends to press ahead with the acquisition of project rights with subsequent financing and construction. Operations management, already experienced with international customers, is now also being offered by ABO Wind to third parties and equivalent size advantages in this field are also anticipated, as with financing and sales. “With a limited amount of investment, we intend to open up new markets and further establish ABO Wind as an international project developer. The result for 2005 is the second best in the history of the company. However, we have every reason to believe that we will exceed it in the coming years”, says Ahn.
(Wiesbaden, 02.05.2006) ABO Wind AG has sold nine wind farm with a total of 83 megawatts of output and an investment volume of 110 million euros to an Anglo-Saxon financial investor. The German and French wind farms are part of a project package that was jointly put together by several German planning companies.
Hypovereinsbank arranged the financing, which thus facilitated the packaging up of 39 wind parks with a total of approx. 300 megawatts into one of the largest portfolios in the Western European wind power sector. The senior financing - in the classic sense debt capital portion - of the transaction will also be brought to the market by Hypovereinsbank as a bond. The equity capital was provided by an Anglo-American financial investor. The individual wind farms originate from various planners. However, ABO Wind contributed the largest share.
The main advantages of the package transaction lie in the significantly lower uncertainties of a portfolio in comparison with an individual project. Furthermore, there is the added value of the sophisticated financing, which runs longer than conventional bank loans. These advantages enable better results for both the investor and the project developer.
“The sale of projects in this magnitude shows that the German wind power sector is consolidating itself and that internationally experienced planners can achieve good transactions. After all, institutional investors have identified the advantages of wind power and, under risk aspects, view them as an ideal supplement to their other investments.”, says Dr. Jochen Ahn, Chairman of ABO Wind AG.
Currently, more than half of the wind farms sold by ABO Wind are in operation. The construction of the remaining 35 megawatts has started and will still be completed by the end of 2006. As a result, in 2006, ABO Wind will approximately double the number of commissioned facilities, compared with its former average of around 30 megawatts per year.
The strategy of mainly focussing the company on domestic and foreign wind power and not opening up any additional business fields, other than bio-energy, has therefore proven itself from today’s point of view. With the experiences gained from this transaction and the favourable international establishment, the prospects of ABO Wind AG are very good. It can already be foreseen now that the mentioned successful sales will allow revenues and profit to grow for the years 2006 and 2007.
Please contact us with any questions:
ABO Wind AG
Andreas Höllinger
Hirtenstrasse 26
D-65193 Wiesbaden
Tel. 06 11 / 2 67 65 - 19
Fax 06 11 / 2 67 65 - 99
hoellinger@abo-wind.de
www.abo-wind.de
