Good day, welcome to the PNE AG Q2 Report 2018 conference call. Today's conference is being recorded. At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Mr. Markus Lesser, CEO. Please go ahead, sir.
Hello. Good morning for the half year conference here in 2018. For the first time as PNE AG, not anymore as PNE Wind AG. As decided on the last AGM, we changed the name in respect to our new strategy. If I look to the first half year, I see a lot of work we did in following up our scale-up process. We worked on structural and especially on cost reduction issues like the refinancing of the EUR 50 million bond. We paid back EUR 100 million. We just right now could take over 100% of the shares of WKN AG to follow up on synergies. In the next weeks, we're going to change it from an AG to a GmbH to cut costs. Additionally, we invest in our 200-megawatt portfolio. Just right now, Kührstedt with 43 MW is in operation. An additional 22 megawatts is under construction.
Third of all, we strengthen our conversion works, in that respect that we follow up and made a double additional conversion works on financing, construction, and development. The first project in Germany and in Sweden has been done like this, in this method, we are successful in this. Additionally, we worked on our project development pipeline, we had success in all fields, in onshore as well as in offshore, as well as I said already in conversion. If you look to page four, you see that we completed 37.5 megawatts. In Germany, we buy two projects, both Wangerooge and Kreuzwerder projects, as mentioned before. In the moment, we have 66 megawatts under construction. One project, Gielow-Schwedau, with 22 megawatts, is a project which will be related to our project portfolio, 200 megawatts. Laxåskog, a project in Sweden and additional project in France are the other projects.
It means that we have our successes in foreign countries as well. New permits, we got already with 42 megawatts, we win already tenders of 49 megawatts, which we started already with Gielow-Schwedau, Schleswig-Holstein will follow soon with the construction. In the offshore business, we got a milestone payment for Gode Wind 3 of EUR 4 million from Ørsted, which was a good success, Gode Wind 4 had been successful in the offshore tender in this year. The construction of Borkum Riffgrund started, which means that we expect this year the EUR 4.1 million milestone payment for this project, because this payment we will get after the first wind turbine has been completed and commissioned. As mentioned already, if you look to the financial highlights on the next slide, you see that we are on a good way to get our outlook done.
We're following our plan, the EBITDA at EUR 8.7 million. Then EBIT at EUR 4.1 million, showing that we are on a good way. The earnings increase on a year-on-year basis is significant. We have to see that it is in the same time when we do investment in our project portfolio. We're working heavily on our scale-up strategy. We find our resolutions on the AGM in 2018. If we look back, the dividend of EUR 0.04 had been paid. As I mentioned already, PNE Wind became PNE. If you look to the refinancing, it was a very successful refinancing we did. We got EUR 50 million corporate bonds with an attractive coupon of 4% interest. To see only have in mind what does it mean? Just right now, it is the cheapest to place in a Mittelstandsanleihe ever.
This shows a lot of trust to our company and to our strategy. It was the first time that EUR 100 million bonds being paid back, that 8% interest rate was cut down by half. We paid back in June, EUR 100 million, and in total, we can see that the financial basis remains still strong. The cash position is still high on EUR 114.9 million. This is enough to follow up on our strategy. The equity ratio is very strong at 53%. The liabilities have been reduced by EUR 64.4 million. That's why we say we still stay with the positive outlook of EBIT, EUR 10 million-EUR 16 million, and EBITDA to EUR 20 million-EUR 26 million at the end of this year. Going a little bit deeper, if you look to the onshore development, we have still a pipeline at 4.7 gigawatts. We see that the development in Germany are ongoing.
Part of it I explained already. Important to see is that we put a project in France in operation with Saint-Martin , that we have another project with 19.2 megawatts under construction. We got a permit for another project. This pipeline in France is very valid and is on a good way and in a good mood. We are in a good mood that this is ongoing in the future. Remarkable is that we have 69 megawatts on own wind farms currently in operation, whereby we have to see that we have, we've got Gerdau-Schwienau , a project of 22 megawatts with zero repowering project, which will cut this 69 megawatts by 22 megawatts. In the offshore business, as I mentioned before, Gode Wind 4 successful in the offshore tender, which shows again how high our quality is.
The construction Borkum Riffgrund 2 has started. Everybody who collected here and built here in the fabrication near Cuxhaven for this Borkum Riffgrund project. From our point of view, a very successful issue. With the commissioning of the first machine, we will get our milestone payment of EUR 4.1 million. We are still active in doing our consulting business with Ørsted and Vattenfall. Related to the regulatory changes, we see that the constitutional complaint is still ongoing. We see that the court case is serious. We are still in a very good mood that this will become a positive development. Very important with our payment of Gode Wind 3, we have a next successful result of our businesses and business already and in business in the past with above, slightly above EUR 4 million of payment this half year. Look to the income statement.
I mentioned already, the main point has been the payment of the milestone payment of Gode Wind 4, the building up of the wind farm portfolio 2020, where we have already earnings accrued, which are not yet shown. In the moment, we are at EUR 80.8 million, whereby EUR 6.5 million are in the first half year of 2018 had increased. The main point is this will become relevant at the point of sale of the portfolio. Another important point is the power generation due to the fact that we have about 69 MW in the moment in operation. We have around about EUR 7 million power generation sales, which support the EBIT situation. Look into the balance sheet. We see that we have still a strong liquidity position with EUR 114.9 million.
This is remarkable, especially in the moment when we are investing very heavily in projects for our portfolio and in our strategy. We have a non-current debt at EUR 126.2 million, where it is important to know that we could cut with the new bond and our interest rate payments by EUR 6 million from EUR 8 million to EUR 2 million per year. The liabilities are staying. You need to know that these are all liabilities, which are non-recourse liabilities of EUR 64.3 million, or mainly EUR 64.3 million, and this has nothing to do with the company itself. If we look to the outlook, end of the year, we see that there are some further permits will come up in the near future in several markets, especially in Germany. We see that the markets like France and U.S. are working and ongoing.
In the moment, we are still in a sales process of Chilocco Wind Farm, and we are pretty sure that we will get it done this year. We look to new markets following our scale-up strategy, like Panama, as a hub for Latin America and others. In offshore wind power, we are still working on projects in the East Coast. In the total, we are looking on projects where we absolutely did a bit of around 6.5 GW. The strategy scale up, I already said where we are, but the next task we have is that we reorganize us in that way, that we put PNE and WKN in one PNE Group organization to lower costs. This is the internal view. On the other side, that we see that the first products become available in 2018.
With the project Wangerooge, Looft and Laxåskog, we show that our consulting business is increasing. The first product will be seen very soon and with our VPC cooperation, which is in Eastern, former Wackenhut service business, we see potential for further businesses in Eastern Germany as well. Therefore, we see, together with looking for opportunities for an inorganic growth and cooperations, we see we are in good mood to get our guidance done and that our strategy is on a good way to be finalized. From that point, I say it again, the positive outlook, we see EBIT of EUR 10 million to EUR 60 million and EBITDA of EUR 20 million to EUR 26 million. We confirm it today again. Thank you very much. That was my short overview about the first half year. I'm prepared to answer your questions.
Thank you. If you would like to ask a question, please signal by pressing star one on your telephone keypad. If you are using a speakerphone, please make sure your mute function is turned off to allow your signal to reach our equipment. Again, press star one to ask your question. We pause for just a moment to allow everyone an opportunity to signal for questions. Once again, if you would like to ask a question, please press star one. It appears there are no questions at this time via the telephone. Mr. Lesser, I'd like to turn the conference back over to you.
As I hear, there are no questions at the moment. Thank you very much for your attention and your interest to the PNE AG. In the meantime, our investor relations manager and me, we are there to answer your questions if you have any in the near future. Thank you.