In Q3, the company generated revenue of EUR 21.2 million and a net profit of EUR 5.1 million. Despite increasing the capacity of its operational portfolio by 20 per cent on an annual basis, this was not sufficient to offset the impact of significantly lower electricity prices, coupled with the extraordinarily high prices in the third quarter of 2022. The company achieved considerable progress of over 900 percent for its projects under construction and has added significant strategic elements to its business strategy to support future growth. Nordic Solar is at the same time narrowing its financial outlook for the year.
The company’s results in outline: Revenue of EUR 21.2 million (Q3 2022: EUR 27.1 million), EBITDA of EUR 16.9 million (Q3 2022: EUR 22.2 million) and a net profit of EUR 5.1 million (Q3 2022: EUR 10.3 million). The revenue share which is secured by power purchase agreements, feed-in tariffs and government subsidies increased to 66.8 per cent (Q3 2022: 61.8 per cent), while the company is maintaining a strong level of free cash flow of EUR 10.4 million (EUR 13.1 million).
Taking into account the revenue realised year-to-date, Nordic Solar is narrowing its financial expectations for the year to revenue between EUR 57-63 million (previously EUR 57-67 million) and EBITDA between EUR 34-39 million (previously EUR 32-39 million).
More projects under construction and higher operating portfolio production
Compared to the same period in 2022, Nordic Solar has achieved significant momentum in converting development projects to construction, while expanding the portfolio of solar parks in operation. Nordic Solar’s total portfolio of development and construction projects increased by 7 per cent to 1,915 MWp (Q3 2022: 1,784 MWp).
At the end of the quarter, Nordic Solar had five projects under construction across Europe totalling an estimated capacity of 334 MWp (Q3 2022: 33 MWp), which corresponds to an increase of more than 900 per cent compared to the same period last year.
The capacity of the operational portfolio increased by 20 per cent to 390 MWp during the quarter. This rise led to a 14 per cent increase of the production realised in the quarter totalling 165 GWh (Q3 2022: 145 GWh).
CEO Nikolai Holtet Hoff elaborates: “The sharp increase in projects under construction reflects the company’s ability to turn development projects into construction and the quality of our pipeline. We expect several of these projects to become operational during 2024. At the same time, we will continue to add capacity to our operational portfolio, which has reached a total of 390 MWp. With our updated strategy, we continue to see a strong development in our growth, competitiveness and ability to convert the potential of our business model into future value”.
Strategy update
In continuation of the third quarter, Nordic Solar’s management, in consultation with the Board of Directors, has adopted three strategic additions to the company’s business strategy to support continued development and growth as well as to strengthen future competitiveness.
Over the next three to five years, Nordic Solar will gradually invest more in developing its own greenfield projects to supplement the existing supply of projects and project rights from third-party providers. In addition, the company will increase its focus on investments in energy storage by means of batteries. The goal is to make the business model more resilient to energy price fluctuations and increase competitiveness. In addition, the company will initiate a capital raising process in early 2024 to ensure continued value creation and realisation of the potential of the company’s development portfolio. The goal is to obtain additional funding during 2024-2025. These strategic elements will be discussed in detail during the scheduled online presentation this afternoon.
