Paris, June 15, 2022 : Akuo, an independant global renewable energy power producer and developer announces a 6% increase in EBITDA to €136 million over FY 2021 and a 9% rise in revenues to reach €233 million.

Growth in business and results

Over FY 2021, Akuo generated revenues up to 9% to €233 million in accordance with IFRS, mostly in power plant energy sales are linked to resources independent form the economy and are mostly derived from long-term feed-in contracts partly with government-owned entities in the countries in which our projects are located.

Various factors explain the increase in business: (1) the full-year impact of power plants commissioned in 2020, (2) injection into the grid of the first electrons from the Gatinais 2 wind plant in the second half of the year, and (3) consolidation of the hydro assets in Bulgaria.

The plants commissioned in Poland (132 MW) and the United States (93 MW) were consolidaled by the equity method and therefore had no impact on the Group's revenues. This is also the case of the biomass power plants in France which were sold during the year, as they were recognized as assets held for sale since 2020 (IFRS 5).

Energy sales increased 3.4% over the period to €298 million due particularly to the full-year impact of power plants commissioned in 2020, the contribution of power plants commissioned and acquired in 2021 and the disposal of the biomass plants in France (49 MW) and the Germanea 3 MW hydro power plant (Diamond portfolio). At the end of 2021, wind, solar and hydro respectively accounted for 49%, 30% and 7% of total energy sales.

EBITDA is up 6% to €136 million, i.e., a 59% margin compared to 60% a year earlier. The hydro business posted a significant increase in profitability due fo the rise in wholesale electricily prices. The margin in solar, meanwhile, is practically stable. The stable profitability is therefore due to a lower performance in wind power, explained by a less abundant resource in Uruguay and France, a one-off incident on the Les Vignes power plant (12 MW) in France and a smaller contribution from the Pecasa power plant (50 MW) in the Dominican Republic.

In France, the government decree published in 2021 specified the conditions for revising the power purchase contracts of the solar plants located in mainland and overseas France commissioned before 2011, with an entry into force on December 1, 2021. Safeguard clauses have been activated for the projects in question. This measure had a logical accounting impact on the valuation of the Group's assets at year-end 2021 but does not challenge compliance with the financial covenants signed with bond lenders.



Six new projects commissioned and acquisition of five projects in operation

In 2021, Akuo was active in terms of projects, with the commissioning of six new projects and the acquisition of five hydro power plants in operation (Bulgaria, 15.5 MW) representing more than 260 MW of power and around 20 MWh of storage in total.

The new projects commissioned cover three countries: (1) France, with the Gatinais 2 wind power plant (21 MW) in mainland France and the Madinina storage project in Martinique (19 MWh): (2) the USA with the Bennington wind project (93 MW); and (3) Poland with a portfolio of three wind projects (132 MW).

Work also commenced or continued on several construction sites during the year, namely in mainland France with the extension of the O'MEGA 1 floating solar plant to take the capacity to 22 MW, and the Tarabise solar power plant (11.5 MW]. In Non-Interconnected Zones (ZNI), the teams were busy working in New Caledonia with the Kwita Wije photovoltaic greenhouse and storage project (6 MW / 3 MWh), the two solar with storage projects in Mayotte - Lesport (1.35 MW/ 2.9 MWh) and Hamaha (1.2 MW / 2.4 MWh), and the Janar solar with storage project (4.9 MW / 10.6 MWh) on Reunion Island. Lastly, the Group began construction of the Matrisol solar power plant (53 MW) in the Dominican Republic, the Planeta Rica solar project (26 MW) in Colombia and the Thessaly solar project (4 MW) in Greece.

In parallel, for third parties. Akuo commissioned the Tonga 1 & 2 storage projects in the Pacific for a total capacity of 29 MWh and continued construction of the Escalade wind project (336 MW) in the United States.

At the end of 2021, power plants in operation and under construction represented a power capacity of 1.4 GW and a storage capacity of 71.5 MWh.





Recent events and outlook

At a time when geopolitical tensions are demonstrating that local and green energies are the right option, the Group is more focused than ever on pursuing projects that contribute to accelerating both energy and agricultural sovereignty.



In addition to projects, the Group:

  • continued to opfimize its portfolio of assets in operation with the bank and equity refinancing of a portfolio of five hydraulic power plants in Bulgaria for a capacity of 15.5 MW.
  • pursued its cooperation in France with Plüm énergie for the supply of local green electricity, despite the company's withdrawal as a shareholder following the majority acquisition by UK renewable energy provider Octopus Energy.
  • signed, through the aggregator GEARS, a joint venture recently created by Akuo and Spyropoulos, the first service contracts with several solar power plants in operation in Greece with a total capacity of around 80 MW.



Finally, in terms of capital structure, at the start of the year the transaction to increase the shareholding of the Group's founding directors was approved. Thanks to quasi-equity financing provided by ICG Infra, Eric Scotto and Patrice Lucas are strengthening Akuo's financial resources, thereby allowing the Group fo speed up its development in the dynamic and competitive renewable electricity generation market.

For 2022, Akuo expect further growth in energy sales despite the full-year impact of the sale of the biomass assets in France. In the first quarter, sales were up 19% (unaudited), due in particular to the impact of projects commissioned last year and sales prices that were beneficial for some of our assets.





Eric Scotto, President and cofounder of Akuo: « In a still restrictive health context and given the pressure on supplies, the teams stepped up their efforts to ensure the continued development, financing, construction and operation of decentralized and sustainable power generation projects for the benefit of regions. The capital deal completed early in the year allows the Group to reaffirm its strategy of independence and gives it the resources to support the acceleration of the energy transition. The rise in wholesale electricity prices that we have been seeing for several quarters and the situation in Ukraine only confirm the importance of renewable energies in national energy policies »