Brookfield Renewable Announces Strong Generation and Quarterly Results
/EINPresswire.com/ -- BROOKFIELD, NEWS -- (Marketwired) -- 05/04/16 -- Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. (TSX: BEP.UN)(NYSE: BEP) ("Brookfield Renewable") today reported financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2016.
"We have started 2016 on very solid footing with strong operating results and the recent acquisition of 3,000 megawatts of high-quality hydroelectric assets," said Sachin Shah, CEO of Brookfield Renewable. "Our focus remains on leveraging our operating, development and power marketing expertise to deliver 12% to 15% annual growth in value and cash flows."
Financial Results
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For the periods ended March 31 Three Months Ended
US$ millions (except per unit or otherwise noted)
Unaudited 2016 2015
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Generation (GWh)
- Total(1) 7,659 5,823
- Brookfield Renewable's share(1) 5,905 4,560
Revenues $ 674 $ 441
Adjusted EBITDA(2) $ 455 $ 338
Funds From Operations (FFO)(2) $ 187 $ 153
FFO per unit(2)(3) $ 0.68 $ 0.56
Distribution per unit $ 0.4450 $ 0.4150
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(1) The Colombian segment reflects Brookfield Renewable's proportionate
share (16%) of generation in the portfolio; generation attributable to
non-controlling interests is 1,369 GWh.
(2) Non-IFRS measure. Refer to "Cautionary Statement Regarding Use of Non-
IFRS Measures" and "Financial Review for the three months ended March
31, 2016".
(3) For the three months ended March 31, 2016, weighted average LP units,
Redeemable/Exchangeable units and General Partnership units totaled
275.5 million (2015: 275.7 million).
Recent Highlights
-- On January 22, 2016, we acquired an approximate 58% interest in Isagen
S.A. ("Isagen") with our institutional partners. As required by
Colombian regulations, we launched the first of two mandatory tender
offers for the remaining shares of Isagen. Assuming all remaining Isagen
shares are sold to us, our additional equity commitment will be
approximately US$400 million and result in us owning approximately 25%
of Isagen.
-- Subsequent to quarter end, we closed the 296 megawatt Holtwood
transaction in Pennsylvania. The portfolio consists of two facilities,
the 252 megawatt Holtwood station on the Susquehanna River and the 44
megawatt Wallenpaupack station on Lake Wallenpaupack in the Pocono
Mountains, with a combined expected average annual generation of
approximately 1.1 million megawatt hours. We own approximately 30% of
the portfolio alongside our institutional partners.
-- Our liquidity position at quarter-end remained strong at $1.3 billion.
During the quarter, we completed up-financings for hydro facilities in
Ontario and our wind portfolio in Portugal. In total we generated $170
million of incremental proceeds.
-- We continue to advance the construction of 72 megawatts of hydro and 55
megawatts of biomass facilities in Brazil. The projects are on scope,
schedule and budget. We began construction on a 15 megawatt project in
Northern Ireland, which together with advancing our first 20 megawatts
in Scotland towards the construction phase, positions us to have
approximately 80 megawatts in construction by the end of the year.
Review of Operations
Generation for the three months ended March 31, 2016 totaled 7,659 GWh, above the long-term average of 7,145 GWh and an increase of 1,836 GWh compared to the prior year. The contribution from the growth in the portfolio was 589 GWh.
The hydroelectric portfolio generated 6,533 GWh, above the long-term average of 5,981 GWh and an increase of 1,757 GWh compared to the prior year. In our North American portfolio, strong inflows and active reservoir management contributed to generation that was higher than the prior year and the long-term average. Generation in Brazil continued to improve following the drought conditions affecting prior periods. Generation from the growth in our Brazilian portfolio was 219 GWh and the proportionate contribution from our recently acquired facilities in Colombia was 255 GWh.
The wind portfolio generated 1,105 GWh, consistent with the long-term average of 1,108 GWh and an increase of 170 GWh compared to the prior year. Generation from the prior year includes 37 GWh related to our 102 megawatt wind facility in California sold in the third quarter of 2015. Generation at our North American portfolio was ahead of the prior year but was below long-term average. The European portfolio generated higher than the prior year and the long-term average. Facilities acquired in Brazil in the prior year contributed 113 GWh which was above the long-term average of 81 GWh.
Adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter was $455 million and FFO was $187 million, compared to $338 million and $153 million, respectively, in the same period in the prior year.
The table below summarizes generation by segment and region:
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Generation (GWh)(1) Variance of Results
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Actual Actual LTA Actual vs. Actual vs.
For the three months
ended March 31 2016 2015 2016 LTA Prior Year
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Hydroelectric
North America
United States 3,522 2,535 3,201 321 987
Canada 1,730 1,502 1,233 497 228
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5,252 4,037 4,434 818 1,215
Brazil 1,026 739 1,193 (167) 287
Colombia(2)(3) 255 - 354 (99) 255
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6,533 4,776 5,981 552 1,757
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Wind
North America
United States 220 203 252 (32) 17
Canada 301 281 324 (23) 20
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521 484 576 (55) 37
Europe 471 451 451 20 20
Brazil 113 - 81 32 113
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1,105 935 1,108 (3) 170
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Other 21 112 56 (35) (91)
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Total(3) 7,659 5,823 7,145 514 1,836
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(1) For assets acquired or reaching commercial operation during the year,
this figure is calculated from the acquisition or commercial operation
date and is not annualized.
(2) Includes generation from both hydroelectric and Co-gen facilities.
(3) Includes 100% of generation from equity-accounted investments. The
Colombian segment reflects Brookfield Renewable's proportionate share
(16%) in the portfolio.
Name Change
As of May 3, 2016, Brookfield Renewable amended its name to Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. from Brookfield Renewable Energy Partners L.P.
Distribution Declaration
The next quarterly distribution in the amount of $0.445 per LP Unit, is payable on June 30, 2016 to unitholders of record as at the close of business on May 31, 2016. Brookfield Renewable targets a sustainable distribution with increases targeted on average at 5% to 9% annually.
The regular quarterly dividends on Brookfield Renewable's preferred shares and preferred LP units have also been declared.
Distribution Currency Option
The quarterly distributions payable on LP Units of Brookfield Renewable Partners are declared in U.S. dollars. Registered and beneficial shareholders who are resident in Canada or the United States may opt to receive their distributions in either U.S. dollars or the Canadian dollar equivalent. Unless they request the Canadian dollar equivalent, shareholders will continue to receive distributions in U.S. dollars (which may be converted for them by the broker or other intermediary, as may currently be the case). The Canadian dollar equivalent of the quarterly distribution will be based on the Bank of Canada noon exchange rate on the record date or, if the record date falls on a weekend or holiday, on the Bank of Canada noon exchange rate of the preceding business day.
Registered shareholders wishing to receive the Canadian dollar distribution equivalent should contact Brookfield Renewable's transfer agent, Computershare Trust Company of Canada, in writing at 100 University Avenue, 8th Floor, Toronto, Ontario M5J 2Y1 or by phone at 1-800-564-6253. Beneficial unitholders (i.e., those holding their LP Units in street name with their brokerage) should contact the broker with whom their units are held.
Distribution Reinvestment Plan
Brookfield Renewable maintains a Distribution Reinvestment Plan ("DRIP") which allows holders of its LP Units who are resident in Canada to acquire additional LP Units by reinvesting all or a portion of their cash distributions without paying commissions. Information on the DRIP, including details on how to enroll, is available on Brookfield Renewable's website at www.brookfieldrenewable.com/DRIP.
Additional information on Brookfield Renewable's distributions and preferred share dividends can be found on its website at www.brookfieldrenewable.com under Investor Relations.
Brookfield Renewable Partners
Brookfield Renewable Partners operates one of the world's largest publicly traded, pure-play renewable power platforms. Our portfolio consists of hydroelectric and wind facilities in North America, Latin America and Europe and totals more than 10,000 megawatts of installed capacity. Brookfield Renewable is listed on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges. Further information is available at www.brookfieldrenewable.com. Important information may be disseminated exclusively via the website; investors should consult the site to access this information.
Brookfield Renewable is the flagship listed renewable power company of Brookfield Asset Management, a leading global alternative asset manager with over $225 billion of assets under management. For more information, go to www.brookfield.com.
Please note that BREP's previous audited annual and unaudited quarterly reports have been filed on SEDAR and can also be found in the investors section of its website at www.brookfieldrenewable.com. Hard copies of the annual and quarterly reports can be obtained free of charge upon request.
Quarterly Earnings Call Details
Investors, analysts and other interested parties can access Brookfield Renewable's 2016 First Quarter Results as well as the Letter to Shareholders and Supplemental Information on Brookfield Renewable's website under the Investor Relations section at www.brookfieldrenewable.com.
The conference call can be accessed via webcast on May 4, 2016 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time at www.brookfieldrenewable.com or via teleconference at 1-800-319-4610 toll free in North America. For overseas calls please dial 1-604-638-5340, at approximately 8:50 a.m. Eastern Time. A recording of the teleconference can be accessed through June 4, 2016 at 1-855-669-9658 (Password 00351#).
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements and information within the meaning of Canadian provincial securities laws and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, "safe harbor" provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and in any applicable Canadian securities regulations. The words "will", "should", "could", "potential", "tend to", "target" "future", "growth", "expect", "believe", "goal", "plan", derivatives thereof and other expressions which are predictions of or indicate future events, trends or prospects and which do not relate to historical matters identify the above mentioned and other forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this news release include statements regarding the quality of Brookfield Renewable's business, the expectation for future cash flows and distribution growth, the availability of acquisition opportunities, liquidity, and the timing and completion of current acquisitions and development projects. Although Brookfield Renewable believes that these forward-looking statements and information are based upon reasonable assumptions and expectations, the reader should not place undue reliance on them, or any other forward looking statements or information in this news release. The future performance and prospects of Brookfield Renewable are subject to a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause actual results of Brookfield Renewable to differ materially from those contemplated or implied by the statements in this news release include economic conditions in the jurisdictions in which we operate; our ability to sell products and services under contract or into merchant energy markets; weather conditions and other factors which may impact generation levels at our facilities; changes to government regulations, including incentives for renewable energy; our ability to grow within our current markets or expand into new markets; our ability to complete development and capital projects on time and on budget; our inability to finance our operations or fund future acquisitions due to the status of the capital markets; the ability to effectively source, complete and integrate new acquisitions and to realize the benefits of such acquisitions; health, safety, security or environmental incidents; regulatory risks relating to the power markets in which we operate, including relating to the regulation of our assets, licensing and litigation; risks relating to our internal control environment; we do not have control over all of our operations; contract counterparties not fulfilling their obligations; and other risks associated with the construction, development and operation of power generating facilities.
We caution that the foregoing list of important factors that may affect future results is not exhaustive. The forward-looking statements represent our views as of the date of this news release and should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any date subsequent to the date of this news release. While we anticipate that subsequent events and developments may cause our views to change, we disclaim any obligation to update the forward-looking statements, other than as required by applicable law. For further information on these known and unknown risks, please see "Risk Factors" included in our Form 20-F.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Use of Non-IFRS Measures
This news release contains references to Adjusted EBITDA, Funds From Operations and Adjusted Funds From Operations, which are not generally accepted accounting measures under IFRS and therefore may differ from definitions of Adjusted EBITDA, Funds From Operations and Adjusted Funds From Operations used by other entities. We believe that Adjusted EBITDA, Funds From Operations and Adjusted Funds From Operations are useful supplemental measures that may assist investors in assessing the financial performance and the cash anticipated to be generated by our operating portfolio. Neither Adjusted EBITDA, Funds From Operations nor Adjusted Funds From Operations per LP Unit should be considered as the sole measure of our performance and should not be considered in isolation from, or as a substitute for, analysis of our financial statements prepared in accordance with IFRS.
References to Brookfield Renewable are to Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. together with its subsidiary and operating entities unless the context reflects otherwise.
FINANCIAL REVIEW FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2016
The following table reflects Adjusted EBITDA, Funds From Operations, Adjusted Funds From Operations, and provides a reconciliation to net income for the three months ended March 31:
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(MILLIONS, EXCEPT AS NOTED) 2016 2015
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Revenues $ 674 $ 441
Other income 22 27
Share of cash earnings from equity-accounted
investments 2 4
Direct operating costs (243) (134)
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Adjusted EBITDA(1) 455 338
Interest expense - borrowings (127) (105)
Management service costs (15) (14)
Current income taxes (7) (5)
Distributions to preferred limited partners (3) -
Less: cash portion of non-controlling interests
Participating non-controlling interests - in
operating subsidiaries (110) (53)
Preferred equity (6) (8)
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Funds From Operations(1) 187 153
Less: adjusted sustaining capital expenditures(2) (16) (15)
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Adjusted Funds From Operations(1) 171 138
Add: cash portion of non-controlling interests 116 61
Add: distributions to preferred limited partners 3 -
Add: adjusted sustaining capital expenditures 16 15
Depreciation (179) (158)
Unrealized financial instruments loss - (8)
Share of non-cash loss from equity-accounted
investments (1) (1)
Deferred income tax (expense) recovery (35) 6
Other (12) (2)
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Net income $ 79 $ 51
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Net income attributable to limited partners' equity $ 23 $ 15
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Basic and diluted earnings per LP Unit(3) $ 0.16 $ 0.10
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(1) Non-IFRS measures. See "Cautionary Statement Regarding Use of Non-IFRS
Measures".
(2) Based on long-term sustaining capital expenditure plans.
(3) Average LP Units outstanding during the period totaled 143.2 million
(2015: 143.4 million).
GENERATION AND FINANCIAL REVIEW BY SEGMENTS FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2016
The following table reflects the actual and long-term average generation for the three months ended March 31 on a proportionate basis:
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Variance of Results
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Actual
vs.
Actual LTA Prior
Generation(1) Generation(1) Actual vs. LTA Year
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GENERATION (GWh) 2016 2015 2016 2015 2016 2015
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Hydroelectric
North America
United States 2,429 1,761 2,198 2,208 231 (447) 668
Canada 1,711 1,479 1,217 1,213 494 266 232
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4,140 3,240 3,415 3,421 725 (181) 900
Brazil 854 669 989 878 (135) (209) 185
Colombia(2) 255 - 354 - (99) - 255
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5,249 3,909 4,758 4,299 491 (390) 1,340
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Wind
North America
United States 102 79 128 128 (26) (49) 23
Canada 301 281 324 324 (23) (43) 20
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403 360 452 452 (49) (92) 43
Europe 186 179 178 175 8 4 7
Brazil 47 - 34 - 13 - 47
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636 539 664 627 (28) (88) 97
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Other 20 112 55 52 (35) 60 (92)
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Total(3) 5,905 4,560 5,477 4,978 428 (418) 1,345
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(1) For assets acquired or reaching commercial operation during the year,
this figure is calculated from the acquisition or commercial operation
date and is not annualized.
(2) Includes generation from both hydroelectric and Co-gen facilities.
(3) Includes 100% of generation from equity-accounted investments.
The following table reflects Adjusted EBITDA and Funds From Operations for the three months ended March 31:
Brookfield Renewable's Share
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Hydroelectric
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North America
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($ MILLIONS) U.S. Canada Brazil Colombia (1)
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Revenues 169 105 42 30
Other income - 22 2 1
Share of cash earnings from
equity-accounted investments 1 - 1 -
Direct operating costs (53) (19) (17) (17)
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Adjusted EBITDA(3) 117 108 28 14
Interest expense - borrowings (28) (14) (5) (4)
Management service costs - - - -
Current income taxes (2) - (2) -
Distributions to preferred
limited partners - - - -
Less: cash portion of non-
controlling interests
Participating non-controlling
interests -in operating
subsidiaries - - - -
Preferred equity - - - -
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Funds From Operations(3) 87 94 21 10
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Brookfield Renewable's Share
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Wind
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North America
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($ MILLIONS) U.S. Canada Europe Brazil
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Revenues 9 29 16 3
Other income - - - -
Share of cash earnings from
equity-accounted investments - - - -
Direct operating costs (4) (4) (5) (1)
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Adjusted EBITDA(3) 5 25 11 2
Interest expense - borrowings (4) (7) (3) (1)
Management service costs - - - -
Current income taxes - - - -
Distributions to preferred
limited partners - - - -
Less: cash portion of non-
controlling interests
Participating non-controlling
interests -in operating
subsidiaries - - - -
Preferred equity - - - -
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Funds From Operations(3) 1 18 8 1
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Other (2) Corporate Total
($ MILLIONS)
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Revenues 1 - 404
Other income (3) - 22
Share of cash earnings from
equity-accounted investments - - 2
Direct operating costs (2) (6) (128)
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Adjusted EBITDA(3) (4) (6) 300
Interest expense - borrowings - (19) (85)
Management service costs - (15) (15)
Current income taxes - - (4)
Distributions to preferred
limited partners - (3) (3)
Less: cash portion of non-
controlling interests
Participating non-controlling
interests -in operating
subsidiaries - - -
Preferred equity - (6) (6)
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Funds From Operations(3) (4) (49) 187
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Non-
controlling As per IFRS
interests Statements
($ MILLIONS) 2016 2015
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Revenues 270 674 441
Other income - 22 27
Share of cash earnings from
equity-accounted investments - 2 4
Direct operating costs (115) (243) (134)
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Adjusted EBITDA(3) 155 455 338
Interest expense - borrowings (42) (127) (105)
Management service costs - (15) (14)
Current income taxes (3) (7) (5)
Distributions to preferred
limited partners - (3) -
Less: cash portion of non-
controlling interests
Participating non-controlling
interests -in operating
subsidiaries (110) (110) (53)
Preferred equity - (6) (8)
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Funds From Operations(3) - 187 153
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(1) Includes generation from both hydroelectric and Co-gen facilities.
(2) Other includes North America Co-gen and biomass.
(3) Non-IFRS measures. See "Cautionary Statement Regarding Use of Non-IFRS
Measures".
Contacts:
Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P.
Zev Korman
Senior Vice President, Investor Relations
(416) 359-1955
zev.korman@brookfieldrenewable.com
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