Project sales help ABO Wind double H1 2017 profit

Germany-based ABO Wind AG on Friday reported a first-half 2017 net profit of EUR 8.84 million (USD 7.5m), doubling the year-ago result thanks to project sales.

In the first half of 2016, ABO Wind booked a net profit of EUR 4.44 million. During the reporting period, the wind and solar project developer disposed of 101.8 MW of wind projects in France, selling them to Czech utility CEZ AS (WSE:CEZ), which significantly contributed to its improved performance. The transaction included a one-off payment for the project rights and further payments that will be received as the development of the projects progresses.

Revenues in the six months increased to EUR 73.9 million from EUR 53.1 million a year before. About 40% of the total came from the company’s construction and planning business at home, while Finland and France each contributed around 25% of the business volume.

ABO Wind reiterated its upgraded 2017 profit forecast, saying it expects to book earnings close to or equal to the prior-year result of EUR 16.5 million. As announced in July, the company’s expectations are based on “promising developments” of projects in France, Ireland, Spain and Argentina.

Following its recent entry in the Iranian renewable energy market, ABO Wind expects to commission its first project there, a 1-MW solar plant, by the end of 2017. The company is also working on several wind schemes in Iran, which are currently in the planning stages, it said.

(EUR 1.0 = USD 0.849)

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