Scatec Solar reports higher revenue, lower profits

Norwegian independent power producer and solar project developer, Scatec Solar ASA has seen its turnover grow considerably in the third quarter of this year.

The company registered revenues of NOK 1,259 million (US$152.8 million) in the period, up from NOK 924 million in the same quarter a year earlier. Operating profit, however, dropped year-on-year from NOK 461 million to NOK 200 million, with net profits also declining from NOK 394 million in the third quarter of 2017 to NOK 110 million ($13.3 million) in the latest quarter.

The profit decrease, the company said, is due to the fact that the financial results of the third quarter of 2017 included a gain of NOK 375 million related to the partial sale of a Brazilian solar project to Norway’s energy company Equinor.

As for the revenue increase, Scatec said it is mainly attributable to higher power production in the Czech Republic and strengthening of the US$ to NOK, partly offset by reduced production in South Africa and a weakening of the ZAR to NOK.

At the end of September, Scatec had 357 MW of PV projects in operation and 1,057 MW under construction, while its project backlog stood at 459 MW. “Total annual revenues from the 1,873 MW in operation, under construction and in backlog is expected to reach NOK 3,300 million based on 20-25-year Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs),” the company said.

Projects under construction include the 197 MW Quantum Malaysia plant, the 162 MW Apodi facility in Brazil, and a 400 MW project being built at Egypt’s Benban PV complex,

Looking forward, Scatec said it expects to have between 1.3 GW and 1.5 GW of PV projects in operation or under construction. Furthermore, it said power production is forecast to grow from 627 GW in 2017, to 635 GW this year.

The backlog, meanwhile, includes 251 MW in Ukraine, 33 MW in Mali, 18 MW in Honduras, another 40 MW in Malaysia, and 117 MW in Argentina.

Overall, the company’s PV project pipeline has reached 3.82 GW, more than the half of which is located in Africa, where the company’s projects have a combined capacity of 1.72 GW. The remaining capacity is located in Latin America (563 MW), Europe and Central Asia (670 MW), and South East Asia (862 MW).