Item 2. | Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations |
The following discussion and analysis should be read together with, and is qualified in its entirety by reference to, our Consolidated Condensed Interim Financial Statements and our Annual Consolidated Financial Statements prepared in accordance with IFRS as issued by the IASB and other disclosures including the disclosures under “Part II, Item 1.A.—Risk Factors” of this quarterly report and “Part I, Item 3.D.—Risk Factors” in our Annual Report. The following discussion contains forward-looking statements that reflect our plans, estimates and beliefs, which are based on assumptions we believe to be reasonable. Our actual results could differ materially from those discussed in such forward-looking statements. The results shown here are not necessarily indicative of the results expected in any future period. Please see our Annual Report for additional discussion of various factors affecting our results of operations.
Overview
We are a sustainable infrastructure company with a majority of our business in renewable energy. Our purpose is to support the transition towards a more sustainable world by investing in and managing sustainable infrastructure, while creating long-term value for our investors and the rest of our stakeholders. In 2021, our renewable sector represented 77% of our revenue, with solar energy representing 69%. We complement our portfolio of renewable assets with storage, efficient natural gas and heat and transmission infrastructure assets, as enablers of the transition towards a clean energy mix. We also hold water assets, a relevant sector for sustainable development.
As of the date of this quarterly report, we own or have an interest in a portfolio of diversified assets, both in terms of business sector and geographic footprint. Our portfolio consists of 41 assets with 2,121 MW of aggregate renewable energy installed generation capacity (of which approximately 73% is solar), 343 MW of efficient natural gas-fired power generation capacity, 55 MWt of district heating capacity, 1,229 miles of transmission lines and 17.5 M ft3 per day of water desalination.
We currently own and manage operating facilities in North America (United States, Canada and Mexico), South America (Peru, Chile, Colombia and Uruguay) and EMEA (Spain, Italy, Algeria and South Africa). Our assets generally have contracted or regulated revenue. As of September 30, 2022, our assets had a weighted average remaining contract life of approximately 15 years.
Our objective is to pay a consistent and growing cash dividend to shareholders that is sustainable on a long-term basis. We expect to distribute a significant percentage of our cash available for distribution as cash dividends and we will seek to increase such cash dividends over time through organic growth, investments in new assets and acquisitions.
Recent Investments and Acquisitions
• | In November 2021, we closed the acquisition of La Sierpe, a 20 MW solar PV plant in Colombia for a total equity investment of $23.5 million. The asset was acquired under our Liberty GES ROFO Agreement. |
• | In 2021, we completed our two-step acquisition of the 85% equity interest in Rioglass that we did not previously own for a total investment of $17.1 million, resulting in a 100% ownership. Rioglass is a supplier of spare parts and services in the solar industry and we gained control over the asset in January 2021. |
• | In January 2022, we closed the acquisition of Chile TL4, a 63-mile transmission line and 2 substations in Chile for a total equity investment of $39 million. We expect to expand the line in 2023-2024, which would represent an additional investment of approximately $8 million. The asset has fully contracted revenues in U.S. dollars, with inflation escalation and a 50-year remaining contract life. The off-takers are several mini-hydro plants that receive contracted or regulated payments. |
• | In April 2022, we closed the acquisition of Italy PV 4, a 3.6 MW solar portfolio in Italy for a total equity investment of $3.7 million. The asset has regulated revenues under a feed in tariff until 2031. |
• | In May 2022, together with our partner, we closed a 7.5-year PPA extension for Monterrey with our current off-takers. The extension will involve an investment that is expected to be financed with cash available at the asset level. The main objective of the investment is to achieve improvements in the asset to provide, among other things, additional battery capacity and improve the electric power redundancy. The PPA, which is denominated in U.S. dollars, has now 24 years remaining. |
• | In July 2022 we closed a 12-year transmission service agreement denominated in U.S. that will allow us to build a substation and a 2.4-mile transmission line connected to our ATN transmission line serving a new mine in Peru. The substation is expected to enter in operation in 2024 and the investment is expected to be approximately $12 million. |
• | In September 2022, we closed the acquisition of Chile PV 3, a 73MW solar PV plant through our renewable energy platform in Chile. The equity investment corresponding to our 35% equity interest was $8 million, and we expect to install batteries of approximately 100MWh in 2023. Total investment including batteries is expected to be in the range of $15 million to $20 million. The asset currently has part of its revenue based on capacity payments. Adding storage would increase the portion of capacity payments. |
• | In addition, we currently have three assets under construction: |
| - | Albisu is a 10 MW PV asset wholly owned by us, currently under construction near the city of Salto (Uruguay). The asset has a 15-year PPA with Montevideo Refrescos, S.R.L, a subsidiary of Coca-Cola Femsa., S.A.B. de C.V. The PPA is denominated in local currency with a maximum and minimum price in U.S. dollars and is adjusted monthly based on a formula referring to U.S. Producer Price Index (PPI), Uruguay’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the applicable UYU/U.S. dollar exchange rate. |
| - | La Tolua and Tierra Linda are two solar PV assets in Colombia with a combined capacity of 30 MW. Each plant has a 15-year PPA in local currency indexed to local inflation with Synermin, the largest independent electricity wholesaler in Colombia. Additionally, we have recently started the construction of three additional solar PV plants with a total capacity of 30 MW. |
| - | In September 2022, we agreed our first investment in a standalone battery storage project of 100 MWh (4 hours) capacity located inside Coso, our geothermal asset in California. Our investment is expected to be in the range of $40 million to $50 million. We are in an advanced stage of development of this project and are preparing to start construction, with COD expected in 2024. |
| - | In addition, we have an exclusivity agreement to co-invest in an 80 MW PV portfolio which is currently starting construction. Our investment is expected to be approximately $30 million. |
Recent Developments
• | Regulation in Spain. As expected, the Administration in Spain approved in 2022 measures to adjust the regulated revenue component for renewable energy plants, following the increase since mid-2021 in the billings of these plants for the sale of electricity in the market. On March 30, 2022, the Royal Decree Law 6/2022 was published, adopting urgent measures in response to the economic and social consequences of the war in Ukraine. This Royal Decree Law contains a bundle of measures in diverse fields, including those targeted at containing the sharp rise in the prices of gas and electricity. It includes temporary changes to the detailed regulated components of revenue received by our solar assets in Spain, which are applicable from January 1, 2022. |
The proposed remuneration parameters for the year 2022 were published on May 12, 2022, and, although they are still subject to final publication, we do not expect significant changes. As a result, we have recorded our revenue for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022 following these new parameters. In addition, on May 14, 2022, the Royal Decree Law 10/2022 was published, including additional details on the changes to the regulated components of revenue. The main changes are:
| − | The statutory half-period of three years from 2020 to 2022 has been split into two statutory half-periods (1) from January 1, 2020 until December 31 2021 and (2) calendar year 2022. As a result, the fixed monthly payment based on installed capacity (Remuneration on Investment or Rinv) for calendar year 2022 is being revised. The proposed Rinv is detailed in the table below. |
| − | The electricity market price assumed by the regulation for calendar year 2022 was changed from €48.82 per MWh to an expected price of €121.9 per MWh. As a result, the variable payment based on net electricity produced (Remuneration on Operation or Ro), is also being adjusted. The proposed Ro for the year 2022 is zero €/MWh reflecting the fact that market prices for the power sold in the market are significantly higher. |
The proposed remuneration parameters applicable to our plants for 2022 are as follows, as preliminarily published on May 12, 2022:
| Useful Life | Remuneration on Investment (Rinv) 2022 (euros/MW) | Remuneration on Operation (Ro) 2022 (euros/GWh) | Maximum Hours | Minimum Hours | Operating Threshold |
Solaben 2 | 25 years | 390,452 | 0 | 2,008 | 1,205 | 703 |
Solaben 3 | 25 years | 390,452 | 0 | 2,008 | 1,205 | 703 |
Solacor 1 | 25 years | 390,452 | 0 | 2,008 | 1,205 | 703 |
Solacor 2 | 25 years | 390,452 | 0 | 2,008 | 1,205 | 703 |
PS 10 | 25 years | 543,185 | 0 | 1,840 | 1,104 | 644 |
PS 20 | 25 years | 401,296 | 0 | 1,840 | 1,104 | 644 |
Helioenergy 1 | 25 years | 385,012 | 0 | 2,008 | 1,205 | 703 |
Helioenergy 2 | 25 years | 385,012 | 0 | 2,008 | 1,205 | 703 |
Helios 1 | 25 years | 398,496 | 0 | 2,008 | 1,205 | 703 |
Helios 2 | 25 years | 398,496 | 0 | 2,008 | 1,205 | 703 |
Solnova 1 | 25 years | 404,290 | 0 | 2,008 | 1,205 | 703 |
Solnova 3 | 25 years | 404,290 | 0 | 2,008 | 1,205 | 703 |
Solnova 4 | 25 years | 404,290 | 0 | 2,008 | 1,205 | 703 |
Solaben 1 | 25 years | 395,303 | 0 | 2,008 | 1,205 | 703 |
Solaben 6 | 25 years | 395,303 | 0 | 2,008 | 1,205 | 703 |
Seville PV | 30 years | 696,405 | 0 | 2,041 | 1,225 | 714 |
| − | For the three-year half period starting on January 1, 2023 and ending on December 31, 2025, the adjustment for electricity price deviations in the preceding statutory half period will be progressively modified to take into account a mix of actual market prices and future market prices. |
Given that our solar assets in Spain are regulated and are entitled to receive a predetermined reasonable rate of return, we do not expect any impact on the net value of the assets from the changes in the regulatory remuneration parameters. For the year 2022, as a result of these changes, revenue from Rinv (Remuneration on Investment) will be reduced by €5.6 million and revenue from Ro (Remuneration on Operation) will be reduced by €42.7 million. These effects are expected to be more than offset by significantly higher revenue from sales of electricity at market prices. The new parameters are therefore expected to have a net positive effect in 2022 on our revenue and Adjusted EBITDA with respect to our expectations at the end of 2021. However, we expect this effect to be largely offset by the depreciation of the euro against the U.S. dollar, the increase in the cost of supplies for some of which the price is linked to the price of electricity and natural gas and by lower than expected production.
In order to obtain the right to receive the Rinv, the plants need to achieve an annual minimum production threshold. In the second quarter and beginning of third quarter, some of our assets were subject to significant technical curtailment by the grid operator, which had happened very seldomly in the past. For the year 2022, we expect all our assets to reach the annual minimum production threshold. However, if this curtailment happened again in the future, our assets may not reach the annual minimum production threshold necessary to obtain the Rinv, which may have a material negative effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
• | Potential electric reform in Mexico. On April 17, 2022, the House of Representatives in Mexico rejected a constitutional amendment proposal submitted by the Mexican President aimed at approving a reform to the Electricity Industry Law and granting the state-owned Federal Electricity Commission priority over private sector companies. Although the Mexican President has stated that he does not intend to re-submit a modified amendment proposal for approval again, at this point we cannot guarantee that he will not pursue other changes to the electricity sector in Mexico, since this has been an important component of his political agenda. |
• | Changes in tax regulations. Italy has recently enacted an extraordinary and temporary tax on extraordinary profits obtained by companies operating in the energy sector (including electricity and oil and gas) due to current high prices and calculated by comparing certain 2022 metrics versus 2021. The tax would only be paid if those extraordinary profits are higher than a certain threshold. We do not expect this tax to affect our assets and profits due to this threshold. In addition, the government of Spain has recently announced a new temporary levy which is expected to be in force during the fiscal years 2023 and 2024, and to be applicable to revenues obtained in fiscal years 2022 and 2023 by large operators of the electric and oil and gas sectors with revenue in Spain exceeding €1,000 million. The levy is not expected to be applicable to our assets in Spain since we are out of the proposed scope. |
• | Arizona Corporation Commission. In August 2021, the Arizona Corporation Commission (“ACC”) held a hearing related to different aspects of Arizona Public Service’s electricity supply during which the ACC Chairwoman raised the possibility to retroactively examine Solana’s PPA prudency. This proceeding was ultimately resolved at a July 13, 2022, hearing of the ACC in which the ACC formally approved a resolution to take no action in respect of the Solana PPA. |
• | New director. On August 2, 2022, our board of directors appointed Mr. Edward C. Hall as independent director. Mr. Hall is an active independent director and advisor with 35 years of experience in all facets of the electricity industry. Mr. Hall brings a deep understanding of electricity markets, power generation technologies, utility operations and commercial structuring. Mr. Hall serves as Chairman of Cypress Creek Renewables, Vice Chairman of Japan Wind Development Company and as a Director of Wellesley Municipal Light. Mr. Hall spent 25 years of his career with AES Corporation, where he was a member of the AES Executive Leadership Team and served as Chief Operating Officer of global generation. Mr. Hall has previously served on the boards of General Cable, Globeleq, TerraForm Power and Green Conversion Systems. Mr. Hall earned a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Tufts University and M.S. in Finance and Technology Innovation from the MIT Sloan School of Management. |
• | IRA. On August 16, 2022, the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (“IRA”) was signed into law. The provisions of the IRA are intended to, among other things, incentivize clean energy investment. The IRA includes, among other incentives, a 30% solar ITC for solar projects to be built until 2032, a PTC for wind projects to be built until 2032, a 30% ITC for standalone storage projects to be built until 2032 and a new tax credit that will award up to $3/kg for low carbon hydrogen. The IRA also includes transferability options for the ITCs and PTCs, which should allow an easier and faster monetization of these tax credits. |
• | Dividend. On November 8, 2022, our board of directors approved a dividend of $0.445 per share. The dividend is expected to be paid on December 15, 2022, to shareholders of record as of November 30, 2022. |
Potential implications of Abengoa developments
In 2021, Abengoa performed operation and maintenance (O&M) services for assets that represented approximately 47% of our consolidated revenue for that year. In February 2022, we started to perform the O&M services in Kaxu from an Atlantica subsidiary after reaching an agreement with Abengoa to transition such services. In addition, following the expiration of two O&M agreements, we reached a global agreement for the O&M services of the assets in Spain. As a result of this agreement, in June 2022 Atlantica replaced Abengoa as a service provider for three of our assets in Spain: Solaben 2&3, Solaben 1&6 and Helioenergy 1&2. After this replacement, Abengoa currently provides services for assets representing around 20% of our 2021 consolidated revenue.
On February 22, 2021, Abengoa, S.A., which is the holding company of subsidiaries performing O&M services for those assets, filed for insolvency proceedings in Spain. In addition, on July 28, 2022, the subsidiary in Spain performing the O&M services at some of our plants filed for insolvency proceedings. During the insolvency period, we expect the O&M services to continue to be provided as usual, but no assurance can be provided that that will be the case. The O&M contracts in Spain include the possibility for Atlantica to terminate the agreements by the end of 2024 and before under certain circumstances.
For these assets in respect of which O&M services are provided by Abengoa as of November 7, 2022, we cannot guarantee that Abengoa and/or its subcontractors will be able to continue performing the services or at the same level of service as they did in the past (or at all) or under the same terms and conditions, or at the same prices. If Abengoa cannot continue performing current services at the same prices, we may need to renegotiate contracts, to internalize the service, engage with other suppliers at higher prices or change the scope of those O&M contracts. This may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
In addition, the project financing arrangement for Kaxu contained a cross-default provision related to Abengoa’ S.A.’s insolvency filing. In September 2021, we obtained a waiver for such cross-default which became effective on March 31, 2022, following the transfer of the employees performing the O&M in Kaxu from an Abengoa subsidiary to an Atlantica subsidiary and other conditions. The Kaxu project debt was reclassified to non-current as of that date.
There may be unanticipated consequences of Abengoa S.A. insolvency filings and potential liquidation process, Abengoa’s subsidiary in Spain, Abenewco1, S.A.’s and certain other Abengoa’s subsidiaries pre-insolvency filings or potential insolvency filings, further restructurings by Abengoa or ongoing bankruptcy proceedings by Abengoa’s subsidiaries that we have not yet identified. There are uncertainties as to how any further bankruptcy proceedings would be resolved and how our current O&M agreements or other relationships with Abengoa would be affected following the initiation or resolution of any such proceedings.
In addition, in Mexico, Abengoa was the owner of a plant that shares certain infrastructure and has certain back-to-back obligations with ACT. ACT is required to deliver an equipment to Pemex which has been recently donated and delivered to ACT by such plant. If we are unable to comply with these obligations, it may result in a material adverse effect on ACT and on our business, financial conditions, results of operations and cash flows. According to public information, the plant mentioned above is currently controlled by a third party.
Prior to the completion of our initial public offering in 2014, we and many of our assets were part of Abengoa. In addition, many of our senior executives have previously worked for Abengoa. Abengoa’s current and prior restructuring processes, and the events and circumstances that led to them, are currently the subject of various legal proceedings and investigations and may in the future become the subject of additional proceedings. To the extent that allegations are made in any such proceedings that involve us, our assets, our dealings with Abengoa or our employees, such proceedings may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows, as well as on our reputation and employees. We refer to “Part I. Item 3.D.—Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Relationship with Algonquin and Abengoa” in our Annual Report for further discussion of potential implications of the Abengoa situation.
Factors Affecting the Comparability of Our Results of Operations
Acquisitions and non-recurrent projects
The results of operations of Coso, Calgary District Heating, Italy PV 1, Italy PV 2, La Sierpe, Italy PV 3, Chile TL4, Italy PV 4 and Chile PV 3 have been fully consolidated since April 2021, May 2021, August 2021 for Italy PV 1 and Italy PV 2, November 2021, December 2021, January 2022, April 2022 and September 2022, respectively. Vento II has been recorded under the equity method since June 2021. These acquisitions represent additional revenue for $33.8 million and additional Adjusted EBITDA of $35.1 million in the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, when compared to the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021.
In addition, the results of operations of Rioglass have been fully consolidated since January 2021. In the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021, most of Rioglass operating results relate to a specific solar project which ended in October 2021, and which represented $79.8 million in revenue and $1.0 million in Adjusted EBITDA, included in our EMEA and Renewable energy segments for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021, and which are non-recurrent.
Impairment
Considering the continued delays in the works and replacements that we are carrying out in the storage system in Solana and their impact on production in 2022, as well as an increase in the discount rate, we identified in accordance with IAS 36 (Impairment of Assets) an impairment triggering event. As a result, an impairment test has been performed which resulted in the recording of an impairment loss of $41.2 million for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022. In the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021, we recorded an impairment loss of $43.1 million in Solana.
In addition, IFRS 9 requires impairment provisions to be based on expected credit losses on financial assets rather than on actual credit losses. For the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, we recorded an expected credit loss impairment provision at ACT for $22.8 million which is reflected in the line item “Depreciation, amortization, and impairment charges” following a worsening in its client’s credit risk metrics. For the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021, we had recorded a $23.7 million reversal of the expected credit loss impairment provision in ACT.
Electricity market prices
In addition to regulated revenue, our solar assets in Spain receive revenue from the sale of electricity at market prices. Electricity prices have increased significantly since mid-2021 and revenue from the sale of electricity at current market prices represented $136.8 million in the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, compared to $94.6 million in the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021, resulting in higher short-term cash collections. Regulated revenues are revised periodically to reflect, among other things, the difference between expected and actual market prices if the difference is higher than a pre-defined threshold. Current higher market prices in Spain will therefore cause lower regulated revenue to be received progressively over the remaining regulatory life of our solar assets. As a result, we increased our provision by $28.2 million in the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, with no cash impact on the current period, compared to a provision increase of $52.5 million in the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021. On March 30, 2022, the Royal Decree Law 6/2022 introduced certain temporary changes to the detailed regulated components of revenue received by our solar assets in Spain, which are applicable from January 1, 2022, and which are still subject to final publication. Considering the proposed remuneration parameters published, revenue from the sale of electricity at market prices plus Ro less incremental market price provision was $108.6 million in the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, compared to $90.4 million in the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021 (see “Item 2—Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations— Recent Developments”).
Exchange rates
We refer to “Item 2—Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Significant Trends Affecting Results of Operations—Exchange Rates” below.
Significant Trends Affecting Results of Operations
Acquisitions
If the acquisitions recently closed perform as expected, we expect these assets to positively impact our results of operations in 2022 and upcoming years.
Solar, wind and geothermal resources
The availability of solar, wind and geothermal resources affects the financial performance of our renewable assets, which may impact our overall financial performance. Due to the variable nature of solar, wind and geothermal resources, we cannot predict future availabilities or potential variances from expected performance levels from quarter to quarter. Based on the extent to which the solar, wind and geothermal resources are not available at expected levels, this could have a negative impact on our results of operations.
Capital markets conditions
The capital markets in general are subject to volatility that is unrelated to the operating performance of companies. Our growth strategy depends on our ability to close acquisitions, which often requires access to debt and equity financing to complete these acquisitions. Volatility in capital markets may affect our ability to access this capital through debt or equity financings.
Exchange rates
Our functional currency is the U.S. dollar, as most of our revenue and expenses are denominated or linked to U.S. dollars. All our companies located in North America, with the exception of Calgary, with revenue in Canadian dollars, and most of our companies in South America have their revenue and financing contracts signed in or indexed totally or partially to U.S. dollars. Our solar power plants in Europe have their revenue and expenses denominated in euros, Kaxu, our solar plant in South Africa, has its revenue and expenses denominated in South African rand and La Sierpe our solar plant in Colombia has its revenue and expenses denominated in Colombian pesos. Project financing is typically denominated in the same currency as that of the contracted revenue agreement. This policy seeks to ensure that the main revenue and expenses streams in foreign companies are denominated in the same currency, limiting our risk of foreign exchange differences in our financial results.
Our strategy is to hedge cash distributions from our assets in Europe. We hedge the exchange rate for the distributions in euros after deducting euro-denominated interest payments and euro-denominated general and administrative expenses. Through currency options, we have hedged 100% of our euro-denominated net exposure for the next 12 months and 75% of our euro-denominated net exposure for the following 12 months. We expect to continue with this hedging strategy on a rolling basis.
Although we hedge cash-flows in euros, fluctuations in the value of the euro in relation to the U.S. dollar may affect our operating results. For example, revenue in euro-denominated companies could decrease when translated to U.S. dollars at the average foreign exchange rate solely due to a decrease in the average foreign exchange rate, in spite of revenue in the original currency being stable. Fluctuations in the value of South African rand and Colombian peso with respect to the U.S. dollar may also affect our operating results. Apart from the impact of these translation differences, the exposure of our income statement to fluctuations of foreign currencies is limited, as the financing of projects is typically denominated in the same currency as that of the contracted revenue agreements.
In our discussion of operating results, we have included foreign exchange impacts in our revenue by providing constant currency revenue growth. The constant currency presentation is not a measure recognized under IFRS and excludes the impact of fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates. We believe providing constant currency information provides valuable supplemental information regarding our results of operations. We calculate constant currency amounts by converting our current period local currency revenue using the prior period foreign currency average exchange rates and comparing these adjusted amounts to our prior period reported results. This calculation may differ from similarly titled measures used by others and, accordingly, the constant currency presentation is not meant to substitute recorded amounts presented in conformity with IFRS as issued by the IASB, nor should such amounts be considered in isolation.
Impacts associated with fluctuations in foreign currency are discussed in more detail under “Item 3—Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosure about Market Risk—Foreign exchange risk”.
Interest rates
We incur significant indebtedness at the corporate and asset level. The interest rate risk arises mainly from indebtedness at variable interest rates. To mitigate interest rate risk, we primarily use long-term interest rate swaps and interest rate options which, in exchange for a fee, offer protection against a rise in interest rates. As of September 30, 2022, approximately 93% of our project debt and close to 100% of our corporate debt either has fixed interest rates or has been hedged with swaps or caps. Nevertheless, our results of operations can be affected by changes in interest rates with respect to the unhedged portion of our indebtedness that bears interest at floating rates, which typically bear a spread over EURIBOR, LIBOR, SOFR or over the alternative rates replacing these.
Electricity market prices
In addition to regulated revenue, our solar assets in Spain receive revenue from the sale of electricity at market prices. Regulated revenues are revised every three years to reflect the difference between expected and actual market prices if the difference is higher than a pre-defined threshold. Given that since mid-2021 electricity prices in Spain have been, and may continue to be, significantly higher than expected, it will cause lower regulated revenue over the remaining regulatory life of our solar assets. On March 30, 2022, the Royal Decree Law 6/2022 introduced certain temporary changes to the detailed regulated components of revenue received by our solar assets in Spain, which is applicable from January 1, 2022. In addition, the proposed remuneration parameters for the year 2022 were published on May 12, 2022. These parameters, already take into account the current high electricity prices and is applicable from January 1, 2022. The remuneration parameters will be subsequently reviewed in the next semi-regulatory period, starting on January 1, 2023.
Key Financial Measures
We regularly review a number of financial measurements and operating metrics to evaluate our performance, measure our growth and make strategic decisions. In addition to traditional IFRS performance measures, such as total revenue, we also consider Adjusted EBITDA.
Adjusted EBITDA is calculated as profit/(loss) for the period attributable to the parent company, after adding back loss/(profit) attributable to non-controlling interest, income tax expense, financial expense (net), depreciation, amortization and impairment charges of entities included in the Consolidated Condensed Interim Financial Statements and depreciation and amortization, financial expense and income tax expense of unconsolidated affiliates (pro-rata of our equity ownership). Until September 30, 2021, Adjusted EBITDA excluded equity of profit/(loss) of associates carried under the equity method and did not include depreciation and amortization, financial expense and income tax expense of unconsolidated affiliates (pro-rata of our equity ownership). Prior periods have been presented accordingly.
Our management believes Adjusted EBITDA is useful to investors and other users of our financial statements in evaluating our operating performance because it provides them with an additional tool to compare business performance across companies and across periods. EBITDA is widely used by investors to measure a company’s operating performance without regard to items such as interest expense, taxes, depreciation and amortization, which can vary substantially from company to company depending upon accounting methods and book value of assets, capital structure and the method by which assets were acquired. Adjusted EBITDA is widely used by other companies in our industry.
The non-GAAP financial measures including Adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures of other companies and has limitations as analytical tools and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of our operating results as reported under IFRS as issued by the IASB. Non-GAAP financial measures and ratios are not measurements of our performance or liquidity under IFRS as issued by the IASB and should not be considered as alternatives to operating profit or profit for the period or any other performance measures derived in accordance with IFRS as issued by the IASB or any other generally accepted accounting principles or as alternatives to cash flow from operating, investing or financing activities. Adjusted EBITDA excludes the impact of cash costs of financing activities and taxes, and the effects of changes in operating working capital balances, and therefore are not necessarily indicative of operating profit or cash flow from operations as determined under IFRS GAAP.
Our revenue and Adjusted EBITDA by geography and business sector for the nine-month periods ended September 30, 2022, and 2021 are set forth in the following tables:
Revenue by geography
| | Nine-month period ended September 30, | |
Revenue by geography | | 2022 | | | 2021 | |
| | $ in millions | | | % of revenue | | | $ in millions | | | % of revenue | |
North America | | $ | 323.7 | | | | 37.7 | % | | $ | 308.7 | | | | 32.8 | % |
South America | | | 122.5 | | | | 14.3 | % | | | 117.1 | | | | 12.5 | % |
EMEA | | | 412.2 | | | | 48.0 | % | | | 514.6 | | | | 54.7 | % |
Total revenue | | $ | 858.4 | | | | 100.0 | % | | $ | 940.4 | | | | 100.0 | % |
Revenue by business sector
| | Nine-month period ended September 30, | |
Revenue by business sector | | 2022 | | | 2021 | |
| | $ in millions | | | % of revenue | | | $ in millions | | | % of revenue | |
Renewable energy | | $ | 652.8 | | | | 76.1 | % | | $ | 725.8 | | | | 77.2 | % |
Efficient natural gas & heat | | | 81.9 | | | | 9.5 | % | | | 93.5 | | | | 9.9 | % |
Transmission lines | | | 83.3 | | | | 9.7 | % | | | 80.4 | | | | 8.6 | % |
Water | | | 40.4 | | | | 4.7 | % | | | 40.7 | | | | 4.3 | % |
Total revenue | | $ | 858.4 | | | | 100.0 | % | | $ | 940.4 | | | | 100.0 | % |
Adjusted EBITDA by geography
| | Nine-month period ended September 30, | |
Adjusted EBITDA by geography | | 2022 | | | 2021 | |
| | $ in millions | | | % of Adjusted EBITDA | | | $ in millions | | | % of Adjusted EBITDA | |
North America | | $ | 258.1 | | | | 40.9 | % | | $ | 243.4 | | | | 38.4 | % |
South America | | | 95.1 | | | | 15.1 | % | | | 90.6 | | | | 14.3 | % |
EMEA | | | 277.4 | | | | 44.0 | % | | | 300.1 | | | | 47.3 | % |
Total Adjusted EBITDA(1) | | $ | 630.6 | | | | 100.0 | % | | $ | 634.1 | | | | 100.0 | % |
Adjusted EBITDA by business sector
| | Nine-month period ended September 30, | |
Adjusted EBITDA by business sector | | 2022 | | | 2021 | |
| | $ in millions | | | % of Adjusted EBITDA | | | $ in millions | | | % of Adjusted EBITDA | |
Renewable energy | | $ | 469.8 | | | | 74.5 | % | | $ | 464.9 | | | | 73.3 | % |
Efficient natural gas & heat | | | 66.8 | | | | 10.6 | % | | | 76.4 | | | | 12.1 | % |
Transmission lines | | | 66.2 | | | | 10.5 | % | | | 64.2 | | | | 10.1 | % |
Water | | | 27.8 | | | | 4.4 | % | | | 28.6 | | | | 4.5 | % |
Total Adjusted EBITDA(1) | | $ | 630.6 | | | | 100.0 | % | | $ | 634.1 | | | | 100.0 | % |
Note:
(1) | Adjusted EBITDA is calculated as profit/(loss) for the period attributable to the parent company, after adding back loss/(profit) attributable to non-controlling interest, income tax expense, financial expense (net), depreciation, amortization and impairment charges of entities included in the Consolidated Condensed Interim Financial Statements and depreciation and amortization, financial expense and income tax expense of unconsolidated affiliates (pro-rata of our equity ownership). Adjusted EBITDA is not a measure of performance under IFRS as issued by the IASB and you should not consider Adjusted EBITDA as an alternative to operating income or profits or as a measure of our operating performance, cash flows from operating, investing and financing activities or as a measure of our ability to meet our cash needs or any other measures of performance under generally accepted accounting principles. We believe that Adjusted EBITDA is a useful indicator of our ability to incur and service our indebtedness and can assist securities analysts, investors and other parties to evaluate us. Adjusted EBITDA and similar measures are used by different companies for different purposes and are often calculated in ways that reflect the circumstances of those companies. Adjusted EBITDA may not be indicative of our historical operating results, nor is it meant to be predictive of potential future results. See “Item 2—Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Key Financial Measures”. |
Reconciliation of profit/(loss) for the period to Adjusted EBITDA
The following table sets forth a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to our net cash generated by or used in operating activities:
| | Nine-month period ended September 30, | |
| | 2022 | | | 2021 | |
| | ($ in millions) | |
Profit/(Loss) attributable to the company | | $ | (9.5 | ) | | $ | (18.2 | ) |
Profit attributable to non-controlling interests | | | 11.3 | | | | 11.7 | |
Income tax | | | 13.0 | | | | 42.4 | |
Financial expense, net | | | 224.9 | | | | 251.4 | |
Depreciation, amortization and impairment charges | | | 374.1 | | | | 334.9 | |
Depreciation and amortization, financial expense and income tax expense of unconsolidated affiliates (pro rata of our equity ownership) | | | 16.9 | | | | 11.9 | |
Adjusted EBITDA | | $ | 630.6 | | | $ | 634.1 | |
Reconciliation of net cash generated by operating activities to Adjusted EBITDA
| | Nine-month period ended September 30, | |
| | 2022 | | | 2021 | |
| | ($ in millions) | |
Net cash flow provided by operating activities | | $ | 515.7 | | | $ | 441.9 | |
Net interest /taxes paid | | | 162.1 | | | | 209.0 | |
Variations in working capital | | | (47.7 | ) | | | 4.6 | |
Non-monetary items and other
| | | (37.0 | ) | | | (37.5 | ) |
Share of profit/(loss) of associates carried under the equity method, depreciation and amortization, financial expense and income tax expense of unconsolidated affiliates (pro-rata of our equity ownership) | | | 37.6 | | | | 16.0 | |
Adjusted EBITDA | | $ | 630.6 | | | $ | 634.1 | |
Operational Metrics
In addition to the factors described above, we closely monitor the following key drivers of our business sectors’ performance to plan for our needs, and to adjust our expectations, financial budgets and forecasts appropriately.
• | MW in operation in the case of Renewable energy and Efficient natural gas and heat assets, miles in operation in the case of Transmission lines and Mft3 per day in operation in the case of Water assets, are indicators which provide information about the installed capacity or size of our portfolio of assets. |
• | Production measured in GWh in our Renewable energy and Efficient natural gas and heat assets provides information about the performance of these assets. |
• | Availability in the case of our Efficient natural gas and heat assets, Transmission lines and Water assets also provides information on the performance of the assets. In these business segments revenues are based on availability, which is the time during which the asset was available to our client totally or partially divided by contracted availability or budgeted availability, as applicable. |
Key Performance Indicators
| | Volume sold and availability levels As of and for the nine-month period ended September 30, | |
Key performance indicator | | 2022 | | | 2021 | |
Renewable energy | | | | | | |
MW in operation(1) | | | 2,121 | | | | 2,022 | |
GWh produced(2) | | | 4,155 | | | | 3,460 | |
Efficient natural gas & heat | | | | | | | | |
MW in operation(3) | | | 398 | | | | 398 | |
GWh produced(4) | | | 1,898 | | | | 1,665 | |
Availability (%) | | | 100.4 | % | | | 99.8 | % |
Transmission lines | | | | | | | | |
Miles in operation | | | 1,229 | | | | 1,166 | |
Availability (%) | | | 99.9 | % | | | 100.0 | % |
Water | | | | | | | | |
Mft3 in operation(1) | | | 17.5 | | | | 17.5 | |
Availability (%) | | | 102.6 | % | | | 99.8 | % |
Notes:
(1) | Represents total installed capacity in assets owned or consolidated for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively, regardless of our percentage of ownership in each of the assets except for Vento II for which we have included our 49% interest. |
(2) | Includes 49% of Vento II wind portfolio production since its acquisition. Includes curtailment in wind assets for which we receive compensation. |
(3) | Includes 43 MW corresponding to our 30% share in Monterrey and 55MWt corresponding to thermal capacity from Calgary District Heating. |
(4) | GWh produced includes 30% of the production from Monterrey. |
Production in the renewable business sector increased by 20.0% in the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, compared to the same period of the previous year. The increase was largely due to the contribution from the recently acquired renewable assets Coso, Vento II, Italy PV 1, Italy PV 2, Italy PV 3, Italy PV 4 and La Sierpe bringing approximately 757.1 GWh of additional electricity generation.
In our solar assets in the U.S. solar radiation was higher in the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, than in the same period of the previous year, and production increased by 1.3% compared to the same period in the previous year. In our wind assets in the U.S., wind resource was in line with expectations in the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022.
In Chile, production at our PV assets was lower in the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022 compared to the same period of the previous year mainly as a result of curtailments and lower solar radiation. In our wind assets in Uruguay, production decreased by 8.3% mainly due to lower wind resource in the second and third quarters of 2022 compared to the same period of the previous year.
In Spain, production at our solar assets decreased by 7.5% in the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, compared to the same period of the previous year. Although solar radiation remained stable, some of our assets experienced significant technical curtailments by the grid operator during the second quarter and beginning of third quarter of 2022. In Kaxu, production increased mainly due to the scheduled maintenance stop performed in the third quarter of 2021.
Efficient natural gas and heat availability and production levels during the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022 were higher than in the same period of the previous year due to the scheduled maintenance stops performed in the first quarter of 2021 and to higher demand from our off-taker in the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022 compared to the same period of 2021.
In Water, availability during the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022 was higher than in the same period of the previous year, with very good performance in all the assets. Our transmission lines, where revenue is also based on availability, continue to achieve high availability levels.
Results of Operations
The table below illustrates our results of operations for the nine-month periods ended September 30, 2022 and 2021.
| | Nine-month period ended September 30, |
| | 2022 | | | 2021 | | | % Changes |
| | ($ in millions) | | | |
Revenue | | $ | 858.4 | | | | 940.4 | | | | (8.7 | )% |
Other operating income | | | 54.9 | | | | 57.6 | | | | (4.7 | )% |
Employee benefit expenses | | | (58.8 | ) | | | (59.1 | ) | | | (0.5 | )% |
Depreciation, amortization, and impairment charges |
|
| (374.1 | ) | |
| (334.9 | ) | | | 11.7 | % |
Other operating expenses |
|
| (261.4 | ) | | | (320.9 | ) | | | (18.5 | )% |
Operating profit |
| $ | 219.0 | | | | 283.1 | | | | (22.6 | )% |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
|
Financial income | | | 3.4 | | | | 1.9 | | | | 78.9 | % |
Financial expense | | | (244.3 | ) | | | (277.0 | ) | | | (11.8 | )% |
Net exchange differences | | | 13.8 | | | | 2.0 | | | | 590.0 | % |
Other financial income/(expense), net | | | 2.2 | | | | 21.7 | | | | (89.9 | )% |
Financial expense, net | | $ | (224.9 | ) | | | (251.4 | ) | | | (10.5 | )% |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
|
Share of profit of associates carried under the equity method | | | 20.7 | | | | 4.2 | | | | 392.8 | % |
Profit/(loss) before income tax | | $ | 14.8 | | | | 35.9 | | | | 58.8 | % |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
|
Income tax | | | (13.0 | ) | | | (42.4 | ) | | | (69.3 | )% |
Profit/(loss) for the period | | $ | 1.8 | | | | (6.5 | ) | | | 127.7 | % |
Profit attributable to non-controlling interests | | | (11.3 | ) | | | (11.7 | ) | | | (3.4 | )% |
Profit/(loss) for the period attributable to the company | | $ | (9.5 | ) | | | (18.2 | ) | | | 47.8 | % |
Weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding basic | | | 114,236 | | | | 110,749 | | | | |
|
Weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding diluted | | | 118,197 | | | | 114,156 | | | | |
|
Basic earnings per share (U.S. dollar per share) | | | (0.08 | ) | | | (0.16 | ) | | | |
|
Diluted earnings per share (U.S. dollar per share) | | | (0.08 | ) | | | (0.16 | ) | | | |
|
Dividend paid per share(1) | | | 1.33 | | | | 1.28 | | | | |
|
Note:
(1) | On February 25, 2022, May 5, 2022 and August 2, 2022 our board of directors approved a dividend of $0.44 per share for each of the fourth quarter of 2021 and the first quarter of 2022, and a dividend of $0.445 per share for the second quarter of 2022 which were paid on March 25, 2022, June 15, 2022, and September 15, 2022 respectively. On February 26, 2021, May 4, 2021 and July 30, 2021 our board of directors approved a dividend of $0.42, $0.43 and $0.43 per share, respectively, corresponding to the fourth quarter of 2020, the first quarter of 2021 and the second quarter of 2021, which were paid on March 22, 2021, June 15, 2021 and September 15, 2021, respectively. |
Comparison of the Nine-Month Periods Ended September 30, 2022 and 2021.
The significant variances or variances of the significant components of the results of operations are discussed in the following section.
Revenue
Revenue decreased to $858.4 million for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, which represents a decrease of 8.7% compared to $940.4 million for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021. On a constant currency basis, revenue for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, was $902.7 million, which represents a decrease of 4.0% compared to the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021. Additionally, on a constant currency basis and excluding the Rioglass non-recurrent solar project accounted for in the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021, revenue increased by 4.9% for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022.
This increase (on a constant currency basis and excluding the Rioglass non-recurrent solar project) was mainly due to the contribution of the recently acquired and consolidated assets which represent a total of $33.8 million of additional revenue in the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022 compared to the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021. In addition, revenue increased at our solar assets in Spain in spite of lower production during the period primarily due to higher electricity prices net of its corresponding accounting provision (see “Item 2—Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Factors Affecting our Results of Operations—Electricity market prices). Revenue also increased in the U.S. and at Kaxu due to higher production during the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022 compared to the same period from previous year, as previously explained. These effects were partially offset by a decrease in revenue at ACT, in which the portion of the tariff related to operation and maintenance services was lower, driven by lower operation and maintenance costs for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, compared to the same period of the previous year.
Other operating income
The following table sets forth our other operating income for the nine-month periods ended September 30, 2022, and 2021:
| | Nine-month period ended September 30, | |
Other operating income | | 2022 | | | 2021 | |
| | ($ in millions) | |
Grants | | $ | 44.4 | | | $ | 44.5 | |
Insurance proceeds and other | | | 10.5 | | | | 13.1 | |
Total | | $ | 54.9 | | | $ | 57.6 | |
Other operating income decreased by 4.7% to $54.9 million for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, compared to $57.6 million for the period ended September 30, 2021.
“Grants” represent the financial support provided by the U.S. Department of the Treasury to Solana and Mojave and consist of an ITC Cash Grant and an implicit grant related to the below market interest rates of the project loans with the Federal Financing Bank. Grants were stable for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, compared to same period of the previous year.
“Insurance proceeds and other” included $6.8 million profit resulting from the purchase of a long-term operation and maintenance account payable at a discounted price in the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021, which is the main reason for the decrease when compared to the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022.
Employee benefit expenses
Employee benefit expenses decreased by 0.5% to $58.8 million for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, compared to $59.1 million for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021. The decrease was mainly due to a decrease in the number of employees who were working for the non-recurrent solar project previously mentioned once it was completed. The decrease was partially offset by the consolidation of Coso and the internalization of the operation and maintenance services at Kaxu and in part of our solar assets in Spain.
Depreciation, amortization and impairment charges
Depreciation, amortization and impairment charges increased by 11.7% to $374.1 million for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, compared to $334.9 million for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022. The increase was mainly due to an increase of the expected credit loss impairment provision at ACT. IFRS 9 requires impairment provisions to be based on the expected credit loss of the financial assets in addition to actual credit losses. ACT recorded a credit loss impairment provision of $22.8 million for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, while for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021, there was a reversal of the expected credit loss provision of $23.7 million. In addition, in the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, we recorded an impairment loss of $41.2 million in Solana, as previously described, compared to a $43.1 million impairment in the nine-month period ended on September 30, 2021. Depreciation, amortization and impairment charges also increased due to the consolidation of recent acquisitions. On the other hand, depreciation, amortization and impairment charges decreased in our assets in Spain mainly due to the depreciation of the euro against the U.S. dollar.
Other operating expenses
The following table sets forth our other operating expenses for the nine-month periods ended September 30, 2022 and 2021:
| | Nine-month period ended September 30, | |
Other operating expenses | | 2022 | | | 2021 | |
| | $ in millions | | | % of revenue | | | $ in millions | | | % of revenue | |
Leases and fees | | $ | (8.6 | ) | | | 1.0 | % | | $ | (6.5 | ) | | | 0.7 | % |
Operation and maintenance | | | (106.1 | ) | | | 12.4 | % | | | (117.7 | ) | | | 12.5 | % |
Independent professional services | | | (28.1 | ) | | | 3.2 | % | | | (27.3 | ) | | | 2.9 | % |
Supplies | | | (45.7 | ) | | | 5.3 | % | | | (25.3 | ) | | | 2.7 | % |
Insurance | | | (34.4 | ) | | | 4.0 | % | | | (33.9 | ) | | | 3.6 | % |
Levies and duties | | | (13.6 | ) | | | 1.6 | % | | | (25.9 | ) | | | 2.8 | % |
Other expenses | | | (11.2 | ) | | | 1.3 | % | | | (19.5 | ) | | | 2.1 | % |
Raw materials | | | (13.7 | ) | | | 1.6 | % | | | (64.8 | ) | | | 6.9 | % |
Total | | $ | (261.4 | ) | | | 30.5 | % | | $ | (320.9 | ) | | | 34.1 | % |
Other operating expenses decreased by 18.5% to $261.4 million for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, compared to $320.9 million for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021, mainly due to lower raw material costs corresponding to the aforementioned Rioglass non-recurrent solar project which ended in October 2021.
In addition, our operation and maintenance costs decreased during the nine- month period ended September 30, 2022, compared to the same period from previous year mainly due to lower operation and maintenance costs at ACT. Operation and maintenance costs also decreased at our assets in Spain and Kaxu where these services have been internalized and are now provided by employees of Atlantica, with the cost classified in “Employee benefit expenses”.
On the other hand, the cost of supplies increased mainly because a portion of our supply costs are related to the electricity market prices, which have increased since mid-2021.
Operating profit
As a result of the above-mentioned factors, operating profit decreased by 22.6% to $219.0 million for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, compared with $283.1 million for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021.
Financial income and financial expense
| | Nine-month period ended September 30, | |
Financial income and financial expense | | 2022 | | | 2021 | |
| | ($ in millions) | |
Financial income | | $ | 3.4 | | | $ | 1.9 | |
Financial expense | | | (244.3 | ) | | | (277.0 | ) |
Net exchange differences | | | 13.8 | | | | 2.0 | |
Other financial income/(expense), net | | | 2.2 | | | | 21.7 | |
Financial expense, net | | $ | (224.9 | ) | | $ | (251.4 | ) |
Financial expense
The following table sets forth our financial expense for the nine-month periods ended September 30, 2022, and 2021:
| | For the nine-month period ended September 30, | |
Financial expense | | 2022 | | | 2021 | |
| | ($ in millions) | |
Interest on loans and notes | | $ | (211.5 | ) | | $ | (232.1 | ) |
Interest rates losses derivatives: cash flow hedges | | | (32.8 | ) | | | (44.9 | ) |
Total | | $ | (244.3 | ) | | $ | (277.0 | ) |
Financial expense decreased by 11.8% to $244.3 million for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, compared to $277.0 million for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021.
“Interest on loans and notes” expense decreased mainly because the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021, included costs related to the prepayment of the Note Issuance Facility 2019 in May 2021, the impact of the devaluation of the euro against the U.S. dollar and the decrease in interest expense in our assets as we progressively repay our project debt.
Under “Interest rate losses on derivatives designated as cash flow hedges” we record transfers from equity to financial expense when the hedged item impacts profit and loss. The decrease was mainly due to lower losses in swaps hedging loans indexed to EURIBOR and LIBOR primarily due to the increase in the reference rates EURIBOR and LIBOR in the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, compared to the same period of the previous year and to lower notional amounts, as we progressively repay our project debt.
Net exchange differences
Net exchange differences increased to $13.8 million in the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022 compared to $2.0 million income in the same period of the previous year. The increase was mainly due to the change in fair value of caps hedging our net cash flows in Euros, resulting from the appreciation of the U.S. dollar against the Euro.
Other financial income/(expense), net
| | Nine-month period ended September 30, | |
Other financial income /(expense), net | | 2022 | | | 2021 | |
| | ($ in millions) | |
Other financial income | | $ | 18.8 | | | $ | 35.4 | |
Other financial expense | | | (16.6 | ) | | | (13.7 | ) |
Total | | $ | 2.2 | | | $ | 21.7 | |
Other financial income/(expense), net decreased to a net income of $2.2 million for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, compared to a net income of $21.7 million for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021.
The decrease of other financial income for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, was mainly due to a lower income related to the mark-to-market of the derivative liability embedded in the Green Exchangeable Notes.
Other financial expense includes expenses for guarantees and letters of credit, wire transfers, other bank fees and other minor financial expenses. The increase is primarily due the contribution of the recently acquired assets.
Share of profit of associates carried under the equity method
Share of profit of associates carried under the equity method increased to $20.7 million for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, compared to $4.2 million for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021 primarily due to the contribution of Vento II.
Profit/(loss) before income tax
As a result of the previously mentioned factors, we reported a profit before income tax of $14.8 million for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, compared to a profit before income tax of $35.9 million for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021.
Income tax
The effective tax rate for the periods presented has been established based on management’s best estimates. For the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, income tax amounted to an expense of $13.0 million, with a profit before income tax of $14.8 million. For the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021, income tax amounted to an expense of $42.4 million, with a profit before income tax of $35.9 million. The effective tax rate differs from the nominal tax rate mainly due to unrecognized tax losses carryforwards, permanent tax differences in some jurisdictions and different nominal tax rates in different jurisdictions.
Profit/(loss) attributable to non-controlling interests
Profit attributable to non-controlling interests remained stable at $11.3 million for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, compared to $11.7 million for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021. Profit attributable to non-controlling interests corresponds to the portion attributable to our partners in the assets that we consolidate (Kaxu, Skikda, Solaben 2 & 3, Solacor 1 & 2, Seville PV, Chile PV 1, Chile PV 2, Chile PV 3 and Tenes). The decrease is due to losses in our PV assets in Chile which were primarily caused by technical curtailment by the grid operator and lower electricity market prices was largely offset by higher income in Kaxu.
Loss attributable to the parent company
As a result of the previously mentioned factors, loss attributable to the parent company was $9.5 million for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, compared to a loss of $18.2 million for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021.
Segment Reporting
We organize our business into the following three geographies where the contracted assets and concessions are located: North America, South America and EMEA. In addition, we have identified four business sectors based on the type of activity: Renewable energy, Efficient natural gas and heat, Transmission and Water. We report our results in accordance with both criteria.
Revenue and Adjusted EBITDA by geography
The following table sets forth our revenue, Adjusted EBITDA and volumes for the nine-month periods ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, by geographic region:
Revenue by geography
| | Nine-month period ended September 30, | |
Revenue by geography | | 2022 | | | 2021 | |
| | $ in millions | | | % of revenue | | | $ in millions | | | % of revenue | |
North America | | $ | 323.7 | | | | 37.7 | % | | $ | 308.7 | | | | 32.8 | % |
South America | | | 122.5 | | | | 14.3 | % | | | 117.1 | | | | 12.5 | % |
EMEA | | | 412.2 | | | | 48.0 | % | | | 514.6 | | | | 54.7 | % |
Total revenue | | $ | 858.4 | | | | 100.0 | % | | $ | 940.4 | | | | 100.0 | % |
| | Nine-month period ended September 30, | |
Adjusted EBITDA by geography | | 2022 | | | 2021 | |
| | $ in millions | | | % of Adjusted EBITDA | | | $ in millions | | | % of Adjusted EBITDA | |
North America | | $ | 258.1 | | | | 40.9 | % | | $ | 243.4 | | | | 38.4 | % |
South America | | | 95.1 | | | | 15.1 | % | | | 90.6 | | | | 14.3 | % |
EMEA | | | 277.4 | | | | 44.0 | % | | | 300.1 | | | | 47.3 | % |
Total Adjusted EBITDA(1) | | $ | 630.7 | | | | 100.0 | % | | $ | 634.1 | | | | 100.0 | % |
Note:
(1) | Adjusted EBITDA is calculated as profit/(loss) for the period attributable to the parent company, after adding back loss/(profit) attributable to non-controlling interest, income tax expense, financial expense (net), depreciation, amortization and impairment charges of entities included in the Consolidated Condensed Interim Financial Statements and depreciation and amortization, financial expense and income tax expense of unconsolidated affiliates (pro-rata of our equity ownership). Adjusted EBITDA is not a measure of performance under IFRS as issued by the IASB and you should not consider Adjusted EBITDA as an alternative to operating income or profits or as a measure of our operating performance, cash flows from operating, investing and financing activities or as a measure of our ability to meet our cash needs or any other measures of performance under generally accepted accounting principles. We believe that Adjusted EBITDA is a useful indicator of our ability to incur and service our indebtedness and can assist securities analysts, investors and other parties to evaluate us. Adjusted EBITDA and similar measures are used by different companies for different purposes and are often calculated in ways that reflect the circumstances of those companies. Adjusted EBITDA may not be indicative of our historical operating results, nor is it meant to be predictive of potential future results. See “Item 2—Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Key Financial Measures”. |
| | Volume produced/availability | |
| | Nine-month period ended September 30, | |
Volume by geography | | 2022 | | | 2021 | |
| | | |
North America (GWh) (1) | | | 4,425 | | | | 3,463 | |
North America availability(2) | | | 100.2 | % | | | 99.8 | % |
South America (GWh) (3) | | | 537 | | | | 524 | |
South America availability(2) | | | 99.9 | % | | | 100.0 | % |
EMEA (GWh) | | | 1,091 | | | | 1,138 | |
EMEA availability | | | 102.6 | % | | | 99.8 | % |
Note:
(1) | GWh produced includes 30% of the production from Monterrey and our 49% of Vento II wind portfolio production since its acquisition. |
(2) | Availability includes only those assets that have revenue based on availability. |
(3) | Includes curtailment production in wind assets for which we receive compensation. |
North America
Revenue increased by 4.9% to $323.7 million for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, compared to $308.7 million for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021, while Adjusted EBITDA increased by 6.0% to $258.1 million for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, compared to $243.4 million for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021. The increase of Revenue was mainly due to the contribution from the recently acquired assets, Coso and Calgary. Revenue also increased at our solar assets in North America, mainly due to higher production largely driven by higher solar radiation. The increase was partially offset by lower revenue at ACT mainly due to lower revenue in the portion of the tariff related to operation and maintenance services, driven by lower operation and maintenance costs for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022. Adjusted EBITDA increased due to the contribution from the recently acquired assets Coso, Calgary and Vento II. This increase was partially offset by lower Adjusted EBITDA at ACT and at our solar assets in North America, where operating and maintenance expenses were higher mostly due to slightly higher costs related to the scheduled major maintenance at Solana.
South America
Revenue increased by 4.6% to $122.5 million for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, compared to $117.1 million for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021. The increase was mainly due to the contribution from the recently acquired assets, La Sierpe, Chile TL4 and Chile PV 3. This increase was partially offset by a decrease in revenue at our wind assets in Uruguay mainly due to lower wind resource in the second and third quarters of 2022.
Adjusted EBITDA increased by 5.0% to $95.1 million for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, compared to $90.6 million for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021, mostly due to the same reasons.
EMEA
Revenue decreased to $412.2 million for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, which represents a decrease of 19.9% compared to $514.6 million for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021. On a constant currency basis, revenue for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, was $456.2 million, which represents a decrease of 11.3% compared to the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021. Additionally, on a constant currency basis and excluding the non-recurrent solar project accounted for in the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021, revenue for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, increased by 4.9%.
Revenue increased (on a constant currency basis and excluding the non-recurrent solar project) at our solar assets in Spain in spite of lower production, primarily thanks to higher electricity prices net of its corresponding accounting provision (see “Item 2—Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Factors Affecting our Results of Operations—Electricity market prices”). The increase was also due to the contribution of the recently acquired assets in Italy. Revenue also increased due to higher revenue at Kaxu mainly driven by higher production during the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, compared to the same period of previous year and to the indexation of our PPA to local inflation.
Adjusted EBITDA decreased to $277.4 million for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, which represents a decrease of 7.6% compared to $300.1 million for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021. On a constant currency basis, Adjusted EBITDA for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, was $306.9 million which represents an increase of 2.3% compared to the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021. Additionally, on a constant currency basis and excluding the non-recurrent solar project accounted for in the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021, Adjusted EBITDA for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, increased by 2.6%. This increase was mainly due to higher EBITDA at Kaxu and to the contribution of the recently acquired assets in Italy as previously explained. In our solar assets in Spain, the increase in Revenue did not translate in an increase in Adjusted EBITDA mainly due to higher costs of supplies, which are indexed to natural gas and electricity prices.
Revenue and Adjusted EBITDA by business sector
The following table sets forth our revenue, Adjusted EBITDA and volumes for the nine-month periods ended September 30, 2022, and 2021, by business sector:
| | Nine-month period ended September 30, | |
Revenue by business sector | | 2022 | | | 2021 | |
| | $ in millions | | | % of revenue | | | $ in millions | | | % of revenue | |
Renewable energy | | $ | 652.8 | | | | 76.1 | % | | $ | 725.8 | | | | 77.2 | % |
Efficient natural gas & heat | | | 81.9 | | | | 9.5 | % | | | 93.5 | | | | 9.9 | % |
Transmission lines | | | 83.3 | | | | 9.7 | % | | | 80.4 | | | | 8.6 | % |
Water | | | 40.4 | | | | 4.7 | % | | | 40.7 | | | | 4.3 | % |
Total revenue | | $ | 858.4 | | | | 100 | % | | $ | 940.4 | | | | 100 | % |
| | Nine-month period ended September 30, | |
| | 2022 | | | 2021 | |
| | $ in millions | | | % of Adjusted EBITDA | | | $ in millions | | | % of Adjusted EBITDA | |
Renewable energy | | $ | 469.8 | | | | 74.5 | % | | $ | 464.9 | | | | 73.3 | % |
Efficient natural gas & heat | | | 66.8 | | | | 10.6 | % | | | 76.4 | | | | 12.1 | % |
Transmission lines | | | 66.2 | | | | 10.5 | % | | | 64.2 | | | | 10.1 | % |
Water | | | 27.8 | | | | 4.4 | % | | | 28.6 | | | | 4.5 | % |
Total Adjusted EBITDA(1) | | $ | 630.7 | | | | 100.0 | % | | $ | 634.1 | | | | 100.0 | % |
Note:
(1) | Adjusted EBITDA is calculated as profit/(loss) for the period attributable to the parent company, after adding back loss/(profit) attributable to non-controlling interest, income tax expense, financial expense (net), depreciation, amortization and impairment charges of entities included in the Consolidated Condensed Interim Financial Statements and depreciation and amortization, financial expense and income tax expense of unconsolidated affiliates (pro-rata of our equity ownership). Adjusted EBITDA is not a measure of performance under IFRS as issued by the IASB and you should not consider Adjusted EBITDA as an alternative to operating income or profits or as a measure of our operating performance, cash flows from operating, investing and financing activities or as a measure of our ability to meet our cash needs or any other measures of performance under generally accepted accounting principles. We believe that Adjusted EBITDA is a useful indicator of our ability to incur and service our indebtedness and can assist securities analysts, investors and other parties to evaluate us. Adjusted EBITDA and similar measures are used by different companies for different purposes and are often calculated in ways that reflect the circumstances of those companies. Adjusted EBITDA may not be indicative of our historical operating results, nor is it meant to be predictive of potential future results. See “Item 2—Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Key Financial Measures”. |
Volume by business sector
| | Volume produced/availability | |
| | nine-month period ended September 30, | |
Volume by business sector | | 2022 | | | 2021 | |
Renewable energy (GWh) (1) | | | 4,155 | | | | 3,460 | |
Efficient natural gas & heat (GWh) (2) | | | 1,898 | | | | 1,665 | |
Efficient natural gas & heat availability | | | 100.4 | % | | | 99.8 | % |
Transmission availability | | | 99.9 | % | | | 100.0 | % |
Water availability | | | 102.6 | % | | | 99.8 | % |
Note:
(1) | Includes curtailment production in wind assets for which we receive compensation. Includes our 49% of Vento II wind portfolio production since its acquisition. |
(2) | GWh produced includes 30% of the production from Monterrey. |
Renewable energy
Revenue decreased to $652.8 million for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, which represents a decrease of 10.0% compared to $725.8 million for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021. On a constant currency basis, revenue for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, was $697.1 million, which represents a decrease of 3.9% compared to the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021. Additionally, on a constant currency basis and excluding the non-recurrent solar project accounted for in nine-month period ended September 30, 2021, revenue for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, increased by 7.9%. The increase in revenue was primarily due to the contribution from the recently acquired assets Coso, La Sierpe, our PV assets in Italy and Chile PV 3. Revenue also increased at our solar assets in Spain and in Kaxu, as well as at our solar assets in North America. This increase was partially offset by a decrease in revenue at our wind assets in Uruguay, as previously described.
Adjusted EBITDA decreased to $469.8 million for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, which represents an increase of 1.1% compared to $464.9 million for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021. On a constant currency basis, Adjusted EBITDA for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, was $499.5 million which represents an increase of 7.5% compared to the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021. Additionally, on a constant currency basis and excluding the non-recurrent solar project accounted for in the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021, Adjusted EBITDA increased by 7.7%. Adjusted EBITDA increased mainly due to the increase in Revenue and the contribution of Vento II. This increase was partially offset by lower Adjusted EBITDA at our solar assets in North America. In our solar assets in Spain, the increase in Revenue did not translate in an increase in Adjusted EBITDA mainly due to higher costs of supplies, which are indexed to natural gas and electricity prices.
Efficient natural gas & heat
Revenue decreased by 12.4% to $81.9 million for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, compared to $93.5 million for nine-month period ended September 30, 2021, while Adjusted EBITDA decreased by 12.6% to $66.8 million for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, compared to $76.4 million for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021. Revenue decreased at ACT mainly due to lower operation and maintenance costs, since there is a portion of revenue related to operation and maintenance services plus a margin. At ACT, operation and maintenance costs were higher in 2021 as it happens in the quarters preceding any major maintenance works. This decrease was partially offset by the contribution from the recently acquired asset in Calgary. Adjusted EBITDA decreased for the same reasons.
Transmission lines
Revenue increased by 3.6% to $83.3 million for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, compared to $80.4 million for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021, while Adjusted EBITDA increased by 3.1% to $66.2 million for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022 compared to $64.2 million for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021. The increase in revenue and Adjusted EBITDA was mainly due to the contribution of the recently acquired asset Chile TL 4.
Water
Revenue remained stable at $40.4 million for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, compared to $40.7 million for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021. Adjusted EBITDA also remained stable at $27.8 million for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, compared to $28.6 million for nine-month period ended September 30, 2021.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Our principal liquidity and capital requirements consist of the following:
| • | debt service requirements on our existing and future debt; |
| • | cash dividends to investors; and |
| • | investments in new assets and companies and operations (See “Item 2—Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Recent Investments and Acquisitions”). |
As a normal part of our business, depending on market conditions, we will from time to time consider opportunities to repay, redeem, repurchase or refinance our indebtedness. Changes in our operating plans, lower than anticipated sales, increased expenses, acquisitions or other events may cause us to seek additional debt or equity financing in future periods. There can be no guarantee that financing will be available on acceptable terms or at all. Debt financing, if available, could impose additional cash payment obligations and additional covenants and operating restrictions. In addition, any of the items discussed in detail under “Item 3.D.—Risk Factors” in our Annual Report and other factors may also significantly impact our liquidity.
Liquidity position
| | As of September 30, 2022 | | | As of December 31, 2021 | |
| | ($ in millions) | |
Corporate Liquidity | | | | | | |
Cash and cash equivalents at Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure, plc, excluding subsidiaries | | $ | 105.8 | | | $ | 88.3 | |
Revolving Credit Facility availability | | | 440.0 | | | | 440.0 | |
Total Corporate Liquidity(1) | | $ | 545.8 | | | $ | 528.3 | |
Liquidity at project companies | | | | | | | | |
Restricted Cash | | | 230.9 | | | | 254.3 | |
Non-restricted cash | | | 444.9 | | | | 280.1 | |
Total cash at project companies | | $ | 675.8 | | | $ | 534.4 | |
Note:
(1) | Corporate Liquidity means cash and cash equivalents held at Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure plc as of September 30, 2022, and available revolver capacity as of September 30, 2022. |
Cash at the project level includes $230.9 million and $254.3 million restricted cash balances as of September 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021, respectively. Restricted cash consists primarily of funds required to meet the requirements of certain project debt arrangements. In the case of Solana, part of the restricted cash is being used and is expected to be used for equipment replacement. As of December 31, 2021, restricted cash also included Kaxu’s cash balance, given that the project financing of this asset was under a theoretical event of default which was resolved as of March 31, 2022 (see “Item 2—Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Potential Implications of Abengoa developments”).
Non-restricted cash at project companies includes among others, the cash that is required for day-to-day management of the companies, as well as amounts that are earmarked to be used for debt service in the future.
As of September 30, 2022, and December 31, 2021, we had $10 million of letters of credits outstanding. As a result, $440.0 million was available under our Revolving Credit Facility on each such dates.
Management believes that the Company’s liquidity position, cash flows from operations and availability under its Revolving Credit Facility will be adequate to meet the Company’s financial commitments and debt obligations; growth, operating and maintenance capital expenditures; and dividend distributions to shareholders. Management continues to regularly monitor the Company’s ability to finance the needs of its operating, financing and investing activities within the guidelines of prudent balance sheet management.
Credit Ratings
Credit rating agencies rate us and part of our debt securities. These ratings are used by the debt markets to evaluate our credit risk. Ratings influence the price paid to issue new debt securities as they indicate to the market our ability to pay principal, interest and dividends.
The following table summarizes our credit ratings as of September 30, 2022. The ratings outlook is stable for S&P and Fitch.
| S&P | Fitch |
Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure Corporate Rating | BB+ | BB+ |
Senior Secured Debt | BBB- | BBB- |
Senior Unsecured Debt | BB | BB+ |
Sources of liquidity
We expect our ongoing sources of liquidity to include cash on hand, cash generated from our operations, project debt arrangements, corporate debt and the issuance of additional equity securities, as appropriate, and given market conditions. Our financing agreements consist mainly of the project-level financing for our various assets and our corporate debt financings, including our Green Exchangeable Notes, the Note Issuance Facility 2020, the 2020 Green Private Placement, the Green Senior Notes and the Revolving Credit Facility.
| | | | | As of September 30, 2022 | | | As of December 31, 2021 | |
| | Maturity | | | ($ in millions) | |
Revolving Credit Facility | | 2024 | | | $ | - | | | | - | |
Other Facilities(1) | | | 2022-2026 | | | | 37.5 | | | | 41.7 | |
Green Exchangeable Notes | | | 2025 | | | | 106.3 | | | | 104.3 | |
2020 Green Private Placement | | | 2026 | | | | 282.1 | | | | 327.1 | |
Note Issuance Facility 2020 | | | 2027 | | | | 134.8 | | | | 155.8 | |
Green Senior Notes | | | 2028 | | | | 394.8 | | | | 394.2 | |
Total Corporate Debt(2) | | | | | | $ | 955.5 | | | $ | 1,023.1 | |
Total Project Debt | | | | | | $ | 4,621.9 | | | $ | 5,036.2 | |
Note:
(1) | Other facilities include the commercial paper program issued in October 2020, accrued interest payable and other debts. |
(2) | Accounting amounts may differ from notional amounts. |
In the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, project debt decreased by $414.3 million mainly due to foreign exchange translation differences for $303.5 million, mainly due the depreciation of the Euro against the U.S. dollar, and to the scheduled repayment of our project debt for $174.8 million.
A) Corporate debt agreements
Green Senior Notes
On May 18, 2021, we issued the Green Senior Notes with an aggregate principal amount of $400 million due in 2028. The Green Senior Notes bear interest at a rate of 4.125% per year, payable on June 15 and December 15 of each year, commencing December 15, 2021, and will mature on June 15, 2028.
The Green Senior Notes were issued pursuant to an Indenture, dated May 18, 2021, by and among Atlantica as issuer, Atlantica Peru S.A., ACT Holding, S.A. de C.V., Atlantica Infraestructura Sostenible, S.L.U., Atlantica Investments Limited, Atlantica Newco Limited, Atlantica North America LLC, as guarantors, BNY Mellon Corporate Trustee Services Limited, as trustee, The Bank of New York Mellon, London Branch, as paying agent, and The Bank of New York Mellon SA/NV, Dublin Branch, as registrar and transfer agent.
Our obligations under the Green Senior Notes rank equal in right of payment with our outstanding obligations under the Revolving Credit Facility, the 2020 Green Private Placement, the Note Issuance Facility 2020 and the Green Exchangeable Notes.
Green Exchangeable Notes
On July 17, 2020, we issued 4.00% Green Exchangeable Notes amounting to an aggregate principal amount of $100 million due in 2025. On July 29, 2020, we issued an additional $15 million aggregate principal amount in Green Exchangeable Notes. The Green Exchangeable Notes are the senior unsecured obligations of Atlantica Jersey, a wholly owned subsidiary of Atlantica, and fully and unconditionally guaranteed by Atlantica on a senior, unsecured basis. The notes mature on July 15, 2025, unless they are repurchased or redeemed earlier by Atlantica or exchanged, and bear interest at a rate of 4.00% per annum.
Noteholders may exchange all or any portion of their notes at their option at any time prior to the close of business on the scheduled trading day immediately preceding April 15, 2025, only during certain periods and upon satisfaction of certain conditions. Noteholders may exchange all or any portion of their notes during any calendar quarter if the last reported sale price of Atlantica’s ordinary shares for at least 20 trading days during a period of 30 consecutive trading days, ending on the last trading day of the immediately preceding calendar quarter is greater than 120% of the exchange price on each applicable trading day. On or after April 15, 2025, until the close of business on the second scheduled trading day immediately preceding the maturity date thereof, noteholders may exchange any of their notes at any time, at the option of the noteholder. Upon exchange, the notes may be settled, at our election, into Atlantica ordinary shares, cash or a combination of both. The initial exchange rate of the notes is 29.1070 ordinary shares per $1,000 of the principal amount of notes (which is equivalent to an initial exchange price of $34.36 per ordinary share). The exchange rate is subject to adjustment upon the occurrence of certain events.
Our obligations under the Green Exchangeable Notes rank equal in right of payment with our outstanding obligations under the Revolving Credit Facility, the 2020 Green Private Placement, the Note Issuance Facility 2020 and the Green Senior Notes.
Note Issuance Facility 2020
On July 8, 2020, we entered into the Note Issuance Facility 2020, a senior unsecured euro-denominated financing with a group of funds managed by Westbourne Capital as purchasers of the notes issued thereunder for a total amount of €140 million ($137 million). The notes under the Note Issuance Facility 2020 were issued on August 12, 2020 and are due on August 12, 2027. Interest accrues at a rate per annum equal to the sum of the 3-month EURIBOR plus a margin of 5.25% with a floor of 0% for the EURIBOR. We have entered into a cap at 0% for the EURIBOR with 3.5 years maturity to hedge the variable interest rate risk.
Our obligations under the Note Issuance Facility 2020 rank equal in right of payment with our outstanding obligations under the Revolving Credit Facility, the 2020 Green Private Placement, the Green Exchangeable Notes and the Green Senior Notes. The notes issued under the Note Issuance Facility 2020 are guaranteed on a senior unsecured basis by our subsidiaries Atlantica Infraestructura Sostenible, S.L.U., Atlantica Peru, S.A., ACT Holding, S.A. de C.V., Atlantica Investments Limited, Atlantica Newco Limited and Atlantica North America LLC.
2020 Green Private Placement
On March 20, 2020, we entered into a senior secured note purchase agreement with a group of institutional investors as purchasers providing for the 2020 Green Private Placement. The transaction closed on April 1, 2020, and we issued notes for a total principal amount of €290 million ($284 million), maturing on June 20, 2026. Interest accrues at a rate per annum equal to 1.96%. If at any time the rating of these senior secured notes is below investment grade, the interest rate thereon would increase by 100 basis points until such notes are again rated investment grade.
Our obligations under the 2020 Green Private Placement rank equal in right of payment with our outstanding obligations under the Revolving Credit Facility, the Note Issuance Facility 2020 and the Green Senior Notes. Our payment obligations under the 2020 Green Private Placement are guaranteed on a senior secured basis by our subsidiaries Atlantica Infraestructura Sostenible, S.L.U., Atlantica Peru, S.A., ACT Holding, S.A. de C.V., Atlantica Investments Limited, Atlantica Newco Limited and Atlantica North America LLC. The 2020 Green Private Placement is also secured with a pledge over the shares of the subsidiary guarantors, the collateral of which is shared with the lenders under the Revolving Credit Facility.
Revolving Credit Facility
On May 10, 2018, we entered into a $215 million Revolving Credit Facility with a syndicate of banks. The Revolving Credit Facility was increased by $85 million to $300 million on January 25, 2019, and was further increased by $125 million (to a total limit of $425 million) on August 2, 2019. On March 1, 2021, this facility was further increased by $25 million (to a total limit of $450 million). On May 5, 2022, the maturity of the Revolving Credit Facility was extended to December 31, 2024. Under the Revolving Credit Facility, we are also able to request the issuance of letters of credit, which are subject to a sublimit of $100 million that are included in the aggregate commitments available under the Revolving Credit Facility.
Loans under the Revolving Credit Facility accrue interest at a rate per annum equal to: (A) for eurodollar rate loans, Term SOFR, plus a Term SOFR Adjustment equal to 0.10% per annum, plus a percentage determined by reference to our leverage ratio, ranging between 1.60% and 2.25% and (B) for base rate loans, the highest of (i) the rate per annum equal to the weighted average of the rates on overnight U.S. Federal funds transactions with members of the U.S. Federal Reserve System arranged by U.S. federal funds brokers on such day plus ½ of 1.00%, (ii) the prime rate of the administrative agent under the Revolving Credit Facility and (iii) Term SOFR plus 1.00%, in any case, plus a percentage determined by reference to our leverage ratio, ranging between 0.60% and 1.00%.
Our obligations under the Revolving Credit Facility rank equal in right of payment with our outstanding obligations under the 2020 Green Private Placement, the Note Issuance Facility 2020, the Green Exchangeable Notes and the Green Senior Notes. Our payment obligations under the Revolving Credit Facility are guaranteed on a senior secured basis by Atlantica Infraestructura Sostenible, S.L.U., Atlantica Peru, S.A., ACT Holding, S.A. de C.V., Atlantica Investments Limited, Atlantica Newco Limited and Atlantica North America LLC. The Revolving Credit Facility is also secured with a pledge over the shares of the subsidiary guarantors, the collateral of which is shared with the holders of the notes issued under the 2020 Green Private Placement.
Other Credit Lines
In July 2017, we signed a line of credit with a bank for up to €10.0 million ($9.8 million) which was available in euros or U.S. dollars. Amounts drawn accrue interest at a rate per annum equal to the sum of the 3-month EURIBOR or LIBOR, plus a margin of 2%, with a floor of 0% for the EURIBOR or LIBOR. On July 1, 2022, the maturity was extended to July 1, 2024. As of September 30, 2022, we had $8.8 million drawn under this line of credit.
In December 2020 and January 2022, we also entered into two different loans with banks for €5 million ($4.9 million) each. The maturity dates are December 4, 2025 and January 31, 2026, respectively, and they accrue interest at a rate per annum equal to 2.50% and 1.90%, respectively.
Commercial Paper Program
On October 8, 2019, we filed a euro commercial paper program with the Alternative Fixed Income Market (MARF) in Spain. The program had an original maturity of twelve months and has been extended twice, for annual periods. The program allows Atlantica to issue short term notes for up to €50 million, with such notes having a tenor of up to two years. As of September 30, 2022, we had €13.4 million ($13.1 million) issued and outstanding under the Commercial Paper Program at an average cost of 0.71%.
Covenants, restrictions and events of default
The Note Issuance Facility 2020, the 2020 Green Private Placement, the Green Senior Notes and the Revolving Credit Facility contain covenants that limit certain of our and the guarantors’ activities. The Note Issuance Facility 2020, the 2020 Green Private Placement and the Green Exchangeable Notes also contain customary events of default, including a cross-default with respect to our indebtedness, indebtedness of the guarantors thereunder and indebtedness of our material non-recourse subsidiaries (project-subsidiaries) representing more than 25% of our cash available for distribution distributed in the previous four fiscal quarters, which in excess of certain thresholds could trigger a default. Additionally, under the 2020 Green Private Placement, the Revolving Credit Facility and the Note Issuance Facility 2020 we are required to comply with a leverage ratio of our corporate indebtedness excluding non-recourse project debt to our cash available for distribution of 5.00:1.00 (which may be increased under certain conditions to 5.50:1.00 for a limited period in the event we consummate certain acquisitions).
B) At-The-Market Program
On February 28, 2022, we established an “at-the-market program” and entered into the Distribution Agreement with BofA Securities, Inc., MUFG Securities Americas Inc. and RBC Capital Markets LLC, as our sales agents, under which we may offer and sell from time to time up to $150 million of our ordinary shares, including in “at-the-market” offerings under our shelf registration statement on Form F-3 filed with the SEC on August 3, 2021, and a prospectus supplement that we filed on February 28, 2022. During the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, we issued and sold 3,423,593 ordinary shares under such program at an average market price of $33.57 per share pursuant to our Distribution Agreement, representing gross proceeds of $114.9 million and net proceeds of $113.8 million.
C) Project debt refinancing
In October 2022, we refinanced the project debt of Solacor 1 & 2. The new financing is a green euro-denominated loan with a syndicate of banks for a total amount of €205.0 million. The maturity has been extended until 2037. Interest accrues at a rate per annum equal to the sum of 6-month EURIBOR plus a margin of 1.50% between 2022-2027, 1.60% between 2027-2032 and 1.70% between 2032-2037. We have hedged our EURIBOR exposure:
| - | 71% through a swap set at 2.36% for the life of the financing |
| - | 19% by maintaining the existing 1% strike caps with maturity in 2025. |
This financing arrangement permits cash distribution to shareholders twice per year if the debt service coverage ratio is at least 1.15x.
The financing agreement also includes a mechanism under which, in the case that electricity market prices are above certain levels defined in the contract, a reserve account should be established and funded on a six-month rolling basis for the additional revenue arising from the difference between actual prices and prices defined in the agreement. Under certain conditions, such amounts, if any, should be used for early prepayments every six months.
See “Item 5.B –Liquidity and Capital Resources – Financing Arrangements” in our Annual Report for further detail on the rest of our financing arrangements.
Uses of liquidity and capital requirements
Cash dividends to investors
We intend to distribute a significant portion of our cash available for distribution to shareholders on an annual basis less all cash expenses including corporate debt service and corporate general and administrative expenses and less reserves for the prudent conduct of our business (including, among other things, dividend shortfall as a result of fluctuations in our cash flows), on an annual basis. We intend to distribute a quarterly dividend to shareholders. Our board of directors may, by resolution, amend the cash dividend policy at any time. The determination of the amount of the cash dividends to be paid to shareholders will be made by our board of directors and will depend upon our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow, long-term prospects and any other matters that our board of directors deem relevant.
Our cash available for distribution is likely to fluctuate from quarter to quarter and, in some cases, significantly as a result of the seasonality of our assets, the terms of our financing arrangements, maintenance and outage schedules, among other factors. Accordingly, during quarters in which our projects generate cash available for distribution in excess of the amount necessary for us to pay our stated quarterly dividend, we may reserve a portion of the excess to fund cash distributions in future quarters. During quarters in which we do not generate sufficient cash available for distribution to fund our stated quarterly cash dividend, if our board of directors so determines, we may use retained cash flow from other quarters, and other sources of cash.
The latest dividends paid and declared are presented below:
Declared | | Record Date | | Payment Date | | $ per share | |
July 30, 2021 | | August 31, 2021 | | September 15, 2021 | | | 0.43 | |
November 9, 2021 | | November 30, 2021 | | December 15, 2021 | | | 0.435 | |
February 25, 2022 | | March 14, 2022 | | March 25, 2022 | | | 0.44 | |
May 5, 2022 | | May 31, 2022 | | June 15, 2022 | | | 0.44 | |
August 2, 2022 | | August 31, 2022 | | September 15, 2022 | | | 0.445 | |
November 8, 2022 | | November 30, 2022 | | December 15, 2022 | | | 0.445 |
|
Investments and Acquisitions
The acquisitions and investments detailed in “Item 2—Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Recent Investments and Acquisitions” have been part of the use of our liquidity in 2021 and 2022. In addition, we have made investments in assets which are currently under development or construction. We expect to continue making investments in assets in operation or under construction or development to grow our portfolio.
Our uses of liquidity also include debt service and contractual obligations (refer to our Annual Report for further detail).
Cash flow
The following table sets forth cash flow data for the nine-month periods ended September 30, 2022 and 2021:
| | Nine-month period ended September 30, | |
| | 2022 | | | 2021 | |
| | ($ in millions) | |
Gross cash flows from operating activities | | | | | | |
Profit/(loss) for the period | | $ | 1.8 | | | $ | (6.4 | ) |
Financial expense and non-monetary adjustments | | | 628.3 | | | | 661.9 | |
Profit for the period adjusted by non-monetary items | | $ | 630.1 | | | $ | 655.5 | |
| | | | | | | | |
Changes in working capital | | $ | 47.7 | | | $ | (4.6 | ) |
Net interest and income tax paid | | | (162.1 | ) | | | (209.0 | ) |
Net cash provided by operating activities | | $ | 515.7 | | | $ | 441.9 | |
| | | | | | | | |
Net cash used in investing activities | | $ | (48.1 | ) | | $ | (322.9 | ) |
| | | | | | | | |
Net cash provided by / used in financing activities | | $ | (263.1 | ) | | $ | (207.9 | ) |
| | | | | | | | |
Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents | | | 204.5 | | | | (88.9 | ) |
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of the period | | | 622.7 | | | | 868.5 | |
Translation differences in cash or cash equivalents | | | (45.6 | ) | | | (16.0 | ) |
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period | | $ | 781.6 | | | $ | 763.6 | |
Net cash provided by operating activities
For the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, net cash provided by operating activities was $515.7 million, a 16.7% increase compared to $441.9 million in the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021. The increase was due to an improvement of changes in working capital and lower interest and income tax paid. Changes in working capital improved in the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, mostly due to better collections in Spain. Our assets are collecting revenue in line with the parameters corresponding to the regulation in place at the beginning of the year, as the new parameters have not been published yet. However, we are booking revenue in line with the proposed remuneration parameters, and we expect this situation to be regularized at the end of 2022 (see “Item 2—Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations— Recent Developments”). Changes in working capital also increased due to lower VAT paid in the period in Spain and ACT. Net interest and income tax paid were lower in the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022 compared to the same period of the previous year as interest paid typically decrease in each asset as we progressively repay our project debt.
Net cash used in investing activities
For the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, net cash used in investing activities amounted to $48.1 million and corresponded mainly to $45.6 million paid for acquisitions consisting mainly of Chile TL4, Chile PV 3 and Italy PV4, investments in assets under construction for $30.4 million and other investments in existing assets for $27.9 million, including the investments and replacements in Solana. These cash outflows were partially offset by $56.2 million of dividends received from associates under the equity method, of which $22.0 million corresponded to Amherst Island Partnership by AYES Canada, most of which were paid to our partner in this project.
For the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021, net cash used in investing activities amounted to $322.9 million and corresponded mainly to $337.5 million paid for the acquisitions of Vento II, Coso, Calgary, Chile PV2, Rioglass, Italy PV 1 and Italy PV 2, net of the initial cash contribution from these entities. Net cash used in investing activities also includes investments in concessional assets for $10.4 million, mainly corresponding to maintenance capital expenditure and equipment replacements at Solana for $20.1 million, partially offset by $15.6 million proceeds from the sale of a building owned by Rioglass. These cash outflows were partially offset by $24.6 million of dividends received from associates under the equity method, of which $15.8 million corresponded to Amherst Island Partnership by AYES Canada, most of which were paid to our partner in this project.
Net cash (used in) financing activities
For the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, net cash used in financing activities amounted to $263.1 million and includes the repayment of principal of our project financing for $196.3 million and dividends paid to shareholders for $151.5 million and non-controlling interests for $26.4 million. These cash outflows were partially offset by the proceeds from the equity raised under the at-the-market programs for a net amount of $113.2 million.
For the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021, net cash used in financing activities amounted to $207.9 million and includes the repayment of principal of our project financing agreements for an approximate amount of $256.2 and $165.3 million of dividends paid to shareholders and non-controlling interests. These cash outflows were partially offset by the proceeds from the equity private placement closed in January 2021 for a net amount of $130.6 million and equity raised under the previous at-the-market program for a net amount of $24.3 million. In addition, in the second quarter of 2021 we prepaid the Note Issuance Facility 2019 for $354.2 million with the proceeds of the Green Senior Notes issued, amounting to $394.0 million, which created a net cash inflow of $39.8 million.
Item 3. | Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosure about Market Risk |
Our activities are undertaken through our segments and are exposed to market risk, credit risk and liquidity risk. Risk is managed by our Risk Management and Finance Departments in accordance with mandatory internal management rules. The internal management rules provide written policies for the management of overall risk, as well as for specific areas, such as exchange rate risk, interest rate risk, credit risk, liquidity risk, use of hedging instruments and derivatives and the investment of excess cash.
Market risk
We are exposed to market risk, such as movement in foreign exchange rates and interest rates. All of these market risks arise in the normal course of business, and we do not carry out speculative operations. For the purpose of managing these risks, we use swaps and options on interest rates and foreign exchange rates. None of the derivative contracts signed has an unlimited loss exposure.
Foreign exchange risk
The main cash flows from our subsidiaries are cash collections arising from long-term contracts with clients and debt payments arising from project finance repayment. Given that financing of the projects is generally denominated in the same currency in which the contract with the client is signed, a natural hedge exists for our main operations.
Our functional currency is the U.S. dollar, as most of our revenue and expenses are denominated or linked to U.S. dollars. All our companies located in North America and most of our companies in South America have their revenue and financing contracts signed in, or indexed totally or partially to, U.S. dollars, with the exception of Calgary, with revenue in Canadian dollars. Our solar power plants in Europe have their revenue and expenses denominated in euros, Kaxu, our solar plant in South Africa, has its revenue and expenses denominated in South African rand and La Sierpe, our solar plant in Colombia, has its revenue and expenses denominated in Colombian pesos. Project financing is typically denominated in the same currency as that of the contracted revenue agreement. This policy seeks to ensure that the main revenue and expenses streams in foreign companies are denominated in the same currency, limiting our risk of foreign exchange differences in our financial results.
Our strategy is to hedge cash distributions from our assets in Europe. We hedge the exchange rate for the distributions in euros after deducting euro-denominated interest payments and euro-denominated general and administrative expenses. Through currency options, we have hedged 100% of our euro-denominated net exposure for the next 12 months and 75% of our euro-denominated net exposure for the following 12 months. We expect to continue with this hedging strategy on a rolling basis.
Although we hedge cash-flows in euros, fluctuations in the value of the euro in relation to the U.S. dollar may affect our operating results. For example, revenue in euro-denominated companies could decrease when translated to U.S. dollars at the average foreign exchange rate solely due to a decrease in the average foreign exchange rate, in spite of revenue in the original currency being stable. Fluctuations in the value of the South African rand and the Colombian peso with respect to the U.S. dollar may also affect our operating results. Apart from the impact of these translation differences, the exposure of our income statement to fluctuations of foreign currencies is limited, as the financing of projects is typically denominated in the same currency as that of the contracted revenue agreement.
Interest rate risk
Interest rate risk arises mainly from our financial liabilities at variable interest rate (less than 10% of our total project debt financing). We use interest rate swaps and interest rate options (caps) to mitigate interest rate risk.
As a result, the notional amounts hedged as of September 30, 2022, contracted strikes and maturities, depending on the characteristics of the debt on which the interest rate risk is being hedged, are very diverse, including the following:
| • | Project debt in euro: between 75% and 100% of the notional amount, with hedged maturing until 2038 at an average guaranteed strike interest rates of between 0.00% and 4.87%. |
| • | Project debt in U.S. dollars: between 75% and 100% of the notional amount, with hedges maturing until 2038 and average strike interest rates of between 0.86% and 5.89%. |
The most significant impact on our Consolidated Condensed Interim Financial Statements related to interest rates corresponds to the potential impact of changes in EURIBOR or LIBOR on the debt with interest rates based on EURIBOR or LIBOR and on derivative positions.
In relation to our interest rate swaps positions, an increase in EURIBOR or LIBOR above the contracted fixed interest rate would create an increase in our financial expense which would be positively mitigated by our hedges, reducing our financial expense to our contracted fixed interest rate. However, an increase in EURIBOR or LIBOR that does not exceed the contracted fixed interest rate would not be offset by our derivative position and would result in a net financial loss recognized in our consolidated income statement. Conversely, a decrease in EURIBOR or LIBOR below the contracted fixed interest rate would result in lower interest expense on our variable rate debt, which would be offset by a negative impact from our hedges, increasing our financial expense up to our contracted fixed interest rate, thus likely resulting in a neutral effect.
In relation to our interest rate options positions, an increase in EURIBOR or LIBOR above the strike price would result in higher interest expenses, which would be positively mitigated by our hedges, reducing our financial expense to our capped interest rate, whereas a decrease of EURIBOR or LIBOR below the strike price would result in lower interest expenses.
In addition to the above, our results of operations can be affected by changes in interest rates with respect to the unhedged portion of our indebtedness that bears interest at floating rates.
In the event that EURIBOR and LIBOR had risen by 25 basis points as of September 30, 2022, with the rest of the variables remaining constant, the effect in the consolidated income statement would have been a loss of $1.1 million and an increase in hedging reserves of $18.9 million. The increase in hedging reserves would be mainly due to an increase in the fair value of interest rate swaps designated as hedges.
Credit risk
The credit rating of Eskom is currently CCC+ from S&P, Caa1 from Moody’s and B from Fitch. Eskom is the off-taker of our Kaxu solar plant, a state-owned, limited liability company, wholly owned by the government of the Republic of South Africa. Eskom’s payment guarantees to our Kaxu solar plant are underwritten by the South African Department of Energy, under the terms of an implementation agreement. The credit ratings of the Republic of South Africa as of the date of this report are BB-/Ba2/BB- by S&P, Moody’s and Fitch, respectively.
In addition, Pemex’s credit rating is currently BBB from S&P, B1 from Moody’s and BB- from Fitch. We have been experiencing delays from Pemex in collections since the second half of 2019 which have been significant in certain quarters.
In 2019, we also entered into a political risk insurance agreement with the Multinational Investment Guarantee Agency for Kaxu. The insurance provides protection for breach of contract up to $58.0 million in the event the South African Department of Energy does not comply with its obligations as guarantor. We also have a political risk insurance in place for our assets in Algeria up to $38.3 million, including two years dividend coverage. These insurance policies do not cover credit risk.
Liquidity risk
The objective of our financing and liquidity policy is to ensure that we maintain sufficient funds to meet our financial obligations as they fall due.
Project finance borrowing permits us to finance projects through project debt and thereby insulate the rest of our assets from such credit exposure. We incur project finance debt on a project-by-project basis.
The repayment profile of each project is established based on the projected cash flow generation of the business.
Item 4. | CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES |
Not Applicable
PART II. OTHER INFORMATION
In 2018, an insurance company covering certain Abengoa obligations in Mexico claimed certain amounts related to a potential loss. Atlantica reached an agreement under which Atlantica’s maximum theoretical exposure would in any case be limited to approximately $35 million, including $2.5 million to be held in an escrow account. In January 2019, the insurance company called on this $2.5 million from the escrow account and Abengoa reimbursed us for this amount. The insurance company could claim additional amounts if they faced new losses after following a process agreed between the parties and, in any case, Atlantica would only make payments if and when the actual loss has been confirmed and after arbitration if the Company initiates it. In the past we had indemnities from Abengoa for certain potential losses, but such indemnities are no longer valid following the insolvency filing by Abengoa S.A. in February 2021.
In addition, during 2021 and 2022, several lawsuits were filed related to the February 2021 winter storm in Texas against among others Electric Reliability Council of Texas (“ERCOT”), two utilities in Texas and more than 230 individual power generators, including Post Oak Wind, LLC, the project company owner of Lone Star I, one of the wind assets in Vento II where we currently have a 49% equity interest. The basis for the lawsuits is that the defendants, among other things, failed to properly prepare for cold weather, including failure to implement measures and equipment to protect against cold weather, and failed to properly conduct their operations before and during the storm.
Atlantica is not a party to any other significant legal proceedings Atlantica is party to various administrative and regulatory proceedings that have arisen in the ordinary course of business.
While Atlantica does not expect the above noted proceedings, either individually or in combination, to have a material adverse effect on its financial position or results of operations, because of the nature of these proceedings Atlantica is not able to predict their ultimate outcomes, some of which may be unfavorable to Atlantica.
None
Item 2. | Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds |
Recent sales of unregistered securities
None.
Use of proceeds from the sale of registered securities
None.
Purchases of equity securities by the issuer and affiliated purchasers
None
Item 3. | Defaults Upon Senior Securities |
None.
Item 4. | Mine Safety Disclosures |
Not applicable.
Not Applicable.
Not Applicable
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
Date: November 9, 2022
| ATLANTICA SUSTAINABLE INFRASTRUCTURE PLC |
| | | | |
| | By: | /s/ Santiago Seage |
| | | Name: | Santiago Seage |
| | | Title: | Chief Executive Officer |
| ATLANTICA SUSTAINABLE INFRASTRUCTURE PLC |
| | | | |
| | By: | /s/ Francisco Martinez-Davis |
| | | Name: | Francisco Martinez-Davis |
| | | Title: | Chief Financial Officer |
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