Welcome to the Eolus Q3 2023 earnings call. For the first part of the conference call, the participants will be in listen-only mode. During the questions and answer session, participants are able to ask questions by dialing star five on their telephone keypad. Now, I will hand the conference over to the speaker, CEO Per Witalisson, and CFO Catharina Persson. Please go ahead.
Well, welcome to the presentation of Eolus Q3 report. I'm Per Witalisson, CEO of the Eolus, and here to present is also our CFO, Catharina Persson. I'm glad to report a strong quarter for Eolus. We had the net sales amounting to SEK 127 million, with a net profit of SEK 94 million, and an earnings per share of SEK 3.79 . Looking at the nine months figures, our net sales was SEK 2.1 billion , with a net profit of SEK 502 million. The result comes mainly from three activities.
Firstly, it's the progress in the construction of our Swedish wind projects, Skalberget, Utterberget, Tjärnäs, Rosenskog, and the Storsjöån, where we have a revenue recognition from the advancing constructions. Secondly, there was a good outcome of an arbitration with the civil works constructor regarding the Kråktorpet and Nylandsbergen wind projects, which positively affected our pre-tax profit for the third quarter with SEK 85 million. And thirdly, we have received the last milestone payment for the battery storage project in Los Angeles called the Cald project. And I'll give more details later in the presentation. So first, a short introduction to Eolus. We are a developer of the renewable energy in Europe and the U.S.
We've been in the business since more than 30 years. We have built more than 700 wind turbines. We develop sell renewable projects to investors. We construct on behalf of investors. Our main idea is to have the construction financed by investors, meaning that we have a relatively asset-light business model. We hand over the projects of the construction to our investors, but we also have an asset management side, where we do technical and commercial asset management services for the investors. We have a development portfolio of roughly 25 GW.
We're technology-wise working with onshore wind, offshore wind, solar PV, and energy storage projects, mainly being battery storage projects, and combinations of these technologies that we see is a key going forward. Market-wise, we're active in the Nordic countries, Finland, Baltics, Poland, and the U.S. We're listed at the Stockholm Nasdaq Stock Exchange, and we have now roughly 120 employees. We have 61 wind turbines under construction in quite advanced stage of the construction. It is the Skalberget, Utterberget, Tjärnäs, and Rosenskog projects that were all sold to BKW during Q2.
So we are performing now the construction services to them, and all turbines are erected, and most of them are taken into operation, and we plan to be able to hand them over to the investor during our Q4. And then we have the Storsjöån project outside of Sundsvall, where it's 42 turbines which we have sold to MEAG and to Hydro, and are now constructing on their behalf. Eolus owns 51% of this project. The construction of this project have been slightly delayed due to unfavorable weather conditions and shortcomings in the suppliers' project management and organization.
This means that the completion and handover to the owners will not be possible during Q4. We expect it to happen during Q1 2024. The second important thing when it comes to profit during the quarter was the arbitration award that resulted in a profit before tax of SEK 85 million , and this was related to projects Kråktorpet and Nylandsbergen, which we completed in 2019. The dispute was initiated after that. So it's very good for us to finally have an outcome of this, and with a positive outcome.
And seeing that our reservations and provisions made was more than enough and we will then have a negative cash flow during Q4 connected to this, and that is due to that we have withheld invoices from the contractor, where we have to pay some of them now. But overall, very good to be able to have that settled and cleared now. We have also completed our part of the first battery storage project in the U.S., the Cald project in Los Angeles close to the international airport. It's the first standalone battery storage project. It's 120 that we have done.
It's a 100-MW project that we sold to Aypa Power . We have provided continuous development services, and we have now received the final payment for that project. The project is planned to reach commercial operation during 2024. So it's a successful project where we have gained a lot of the experience. And in the U.S. market, there's definitely a huge demand for short-term energy storage, which is very suitable for battery storage, also providing capacity reserves, spinning reserves, and frequency regulation services. So during Q3, we have also made an investment decision for the next projects, Home, in the San Diego area.
It is a 100-MW project with four hours duration. We've entered into agreements regarding supply of battery systems with a major supplier. And we have also entered into a tolling agreement, that's an offtake agreement to say, like, like a PPA, you could say. And construction is planned to commence in Q4 this year. The sales process is ongoing, and the project should reach commercial operation during 2024. We've focused a lot on offshore projects during the quarter. We filed the permit application to the Swedish government and to the environmental court for the project Västvind, 1,000-MW, outside of Gothenburg.
We've also entered into a partnership with Volvo Cars, which aims at providing them with renewable electricity to their factories and activities in Gothenburg, both to the car factories and to the battery factory that Volvo Cars are constructing together with Northvolt. We also announced that we are performing a strategic review of our offshore business. We have like 10 GW of offshore projects in our pipeline, so it's a significant part of our portfolio. The projects are advancing, and we are filing applications for permits.
When these projects continue to develop successfully, we want to make sure that they get the right resources and the best possibilities to be both permitted, constructed, and taken into operation in the best way. That's why we also are sounding the market for potential partners. It could be both financial or industrial partners to team up with us around these projects. We've also in Q4 sent in the next permit application for the Arkona offshore wind project south of Skåne in Sweden.
It's a large project of roughly 1.4 GW, with a potential production of 5.5 TWh of renewable electricity in an area which has a large deficit of electricity. In our report, we have a special focus theme on the Polish market, where we have been active for 2.5 years now. Why we are seeing Poland as an attractive market is that of course it's a large country with a 38 million population or so. 75% of the electricity production is coal-based, and they have huge targets to increase renewable electricity generation from...
More, the target is to triple it until 2035. And then a lot of solar PV, onshore wind, and offshore wind will definitely be needed to reach that. At the same time, electricity consumption is expected to grow significantly. And of course, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, energy self-supply has been put high on the agenda, of course. There are also some political movement, both changes in legislation and the outcome of the parliament elections in October will definitely work in favor of renewable energy in Poland. As I said, we've been active there since 2021. We have a Swedish Polish country manager, Daniel Larsson.
We have a total portfolio now of 1.8 GW, where the main bulk is solar PV, but we're building up a modern onshore wind portfolio there that we think will be very interesting. We're working both with the greenfield development and together with the early phase developers under co-development agreements. We're also, we've also decided to start the construction of our first small solar projects, Krobia and Rekowo, that we expect to both sell and to take into operation during 2024. Our portfolio stays at 25 GW, so no significant changes during the quarter. As I mentioned, 10 GW is offshore wind.
7 GW is being made up by onshore wind, and 5 GW solar, and almost 3 GW of energy storage projects. Geographically, almost half of our portfolio is in Sweden, one quarter in the U.S. We are expanding, growing the portfolio in Finland and in Poland. And then we have projects and activities also in the Baltic States and a partner project in Spain. In the near term, of course, it's important to focus on the portfolio and the late-stage development projects. So we are communicating in our reports and on our website the status of these projects where we have 1.8 GW now in this phase.
Thereby, I hand over to Catharina to present the financials.
Hi, everyone, and thank you, Per. To start with, we have had another quarter with strong results. Revenue recognition regarding the ongoing constructions in Sweden have contributed, together with the arbitration award that was announced after quarter end. Net sales was SEK 127 million , an increase from 111 million SEK compared to the corresponding quarter, 2022. The ongoing constructions is proceeding well in Tjärnäs, Skalberget, Utterberget, with a degree of completion of 29%, and Rosenskog, with a degree of completion of 17% for the quarter. Revenue recognition has been recorded based on the degree of completion, and we expect to have the products finalized according to plan before year-end, and hand it over to the customer. The remaining revenue recognition will affect quarter four.
Storsjöån has also contributed to net sales and profit during the third quarter, according to the current degree of completion. As Per mentioned, the construction has been delayed, and we will not be able to complete and hand over the project to the customer before year-end, as planned. During quarter four, the completion increased with 24%, and that's lower than planned for the quarter. And the work that is performed during the fourth quarter will be recognized, but again, lower than expected, since the handover will not take place this year. And our assumptions are that we have enough reservations in our project budget to secure that Eolus' standing will not be materially affected, in a negative way by the delay.
As expected, the final revenues from the standalone battery project, called in Los Angeles, have been recorded during the third quarter and is now finalized for Eolus' part. Operating profit was SEK 159 million, and is a result from the revenue recognition regarding the projects that are under constructions, and based on the degree of completion.
The arbitration award regarding the wind project, Kråktorpet and Nylandsbergen in Sweden, which were completed back in 2019, was announced after quarter end, but the award has affected the operating profit during the quarter, and it's been divided on other operating income, SEK 48 million, cost for goods and product development with a positive amount of SEK 45 million, and other costs, other external costs, positive amount of SEK 3 million, and we had a result from net financial items with a negative amount of SEK 12 million. And in total, it's been a contribution to the Q3 result, with SEK 85 million profit before tax.
If we compare in comparison with the third quarter last year, the operating profit has improved from a negative amount of SEK 8 million, which is an increment of SEK 167 million. Expenses for Eolus Group are higher also in this quarter if we exclude the arbitration, and also than the previous quarter, and in comparison with the same quarter last year. The increased cost is overall according to plan and the expansion. If we take a look at the net from financial items for the third quarter, it was minus SEK 25 million, and excluding outcome of the arbitration, most of the amount is interest cost referring to loans. A net from financial items for the comparison quarter last year was minus SEK 3 million.
Altogether, we had a net profit for third quarter of SEK 94 million, which is SEK 105 million improvement from third quarter last year. Something worth mentioning is Eolus' net profit rolling twelve months of SEK 540 million. The period includes first of October 2022, until end September 2023. And also mention that we are having fluctuations in the business between quarters, which affect the results, and it can also sometimes fluctuate between the financial years. So we have the balance sheet. Total fixed assets amounts SEK 308 million, compared to SEK 135 million end quarter last year.
The property, plant, and equipment has increased with approximately SEK 200 million , and it's referring to a land agreement in the US project and future payments according to the conditions in that agreement. Inventories and work in progress was SEK 922 million , and advanced payment to suppliers was SEK 58 million . Compared to end quarter three last year, the sum of these items has increased from SEK 827 million- SEK 980 million . These items do not include any ongoing constructions at end quarter, since Eolus' remaining responsibilities are to manage the constructions on behalf of the customer.
We had cash of SEK 980 million in September, and the cash position is mainly related to the selling that took place last quarter, and thereafter have been invested in the project portfolio and specific projects that are in late phase of development. Total assets amounts to SEK 2.709 billion . We had total equity of SEK 1.547 billion , and the increased total equity during the year, and also third quarter comes with a high net profit. We have interest-bearing liabilities of SEK 606 million , and approximately SEK 200 million is referring to the land agreement in the U.S. project that I mentioned before. Some key figures, we had net sale for the quarter divided in Eolus' two segments.
Net sale for project development was SEK 120 million , and with the operating profit of 157. Net sale for asset management was SEK 7 million, with an operating profit of SEK 2 million. Earnings per share for the quarter amounts to SEK 3.79 , compared to a negative amount, same period last year. We have equity per share is just below SEK 60 , and we had net cash position of SEK 300 million. And we continue to increase the number of employees to reach the targets in our business plan, the goals set out in for 2022 to 2024. An average number of employees for Eolus nine first month is 103, compared to 72, same period last year.
We had order backlog of SEK 726 million, and we have asset management assignments of 870 MW. Eolus still have a high equity asset ratio of 57%, and a sound balance sheet with a good net cash position. With the project portfolio spread across several markets and technologies, together with our growing organization, we are well prepared for the future. Return of equity after tax was 45%, compared to negative figure last year for the corresponding period. Then we have information regarding degree of completion. 394 MW were under construction quarter end, and Skalberget, Utterberget, Tjärnäs contributed with 29% degree of completion, and Rosenskog, 17%, and in total, 84% respective 95%.
Project Storsjöån had a degree of completion for the quarter of 7%-24%, and in total, 66%. The remaining degree of completion will be accounted for during quarter four this year and beginning of 2024. So I hand over to Per again for the summary.
Thanks. Thanks, Catharina. So to summarize, it was a strong, strong quarter for Eolus, where results and net sales essentially came from the construction of the 61 wind turbines in Sweden, the arbitration award for the two Sundsvall projects, and the last final payment for the Cald battery storage project in the U.S. As mentioned, there are a lot of things going on in our offshore business. We have submitted the applications for both Västvind and the Arkona project. And we expect more applications to be submitted by us in the very close future. The cooperation with Volvo Cars is a clear manifestation of the industry's need for fossil-free electricity.
And the strategic review process aims to give even better conditions for successful development, permitting, and realization of the offshore projects. Looking outside of Sweden, our business is developing well. We especially highlighted Poland in this report. We think it's really, really positive with a new government in Poland that most likely will improve the conditions for renewable energy projects and organization are developing well also in Finland and the Baltics. In the U.S., we finalized our part of the Cald battery storage project, and also made an investment decision for the next battery storage project, Poland. We continue the development of the Centenary Flats project.
We received a significant milestone payment in Q2, and we still have approximately another 60% of the purchase price to collect up until commercial operation, which is expected to happen in 2026. So to conclude, Eolus has a strong project portfolio with more than 25 GW that is distributed across markets and technologies. Of course, there are challenges with cost inflation, interest rates, and lower long-term electricity price forecasts that are putting pressure on deals, projects, and margins. But we continue to see a strong will and interest to invest in renewable energy.
We remain positive about the future, based on our long experience, the high-quality project portfolio, and the enormous need for new fossil-free electricity. So we have staying power and a strong organization, which creates excellent opportunities for profitable growth for many years to come. Thank you for listening in.
If you wish to ask a question, please dial star five on your telephone keypad to enter the queue. If you wish to withdraw your question, please dial star five again on your telephone keypad. The next question comes from Olof Cederholm from ABG. Please go ahead.
Hello. Hi, it's Olof from ABG. I have a couple of questions. First, I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about your late-stage portfolio and how we should see the different projects moving into sales processes and potential timing of transactions, if you could help us with that.
Yeah, yes, the next, we wrote that in the Q2 report, the next projects that are up for sale is another batch of Swedish onshore wind projects being Fågelås, Buarp, and Dollebo, roughly 100 MW. We also proceed to sell the Poland project during 2024 that we have also communicated, and the Krobia and the Rekowo projects. That are the projects which we have named that we will sell during 2024. We will, of course, need to sell more projects than that to reach our goal.
Excellent. And, what's your view? I mean, it takes maybe a little longer, you know, in sales processes and so forth, and but what is your thinking on project pricing? You said demand was still good, and that there is a lot of interest to invest in this space. But do you think project pricing continues to be good, despite, you know, maybe a lack of support from high electricity prices at the moment?
... Yeah. Yes, we see still high product prices for our way in the sales processes we are engaged in, from an historical perspective. Of course, higher turbine prices, for instance, together with high interest rates puts pressure on it, but also long-term electricity forecasts for most markets are also significantly higher than they were before the Ukrainian war, for instance. So, we definitely see that the good projects are possible to transact on.
It takes somewhat longer time, definitely. We see more utilities coming back in the processes, and they are not always the fastest ones, so to say.
Excellent. Thank you. My last question is about the offshore applications that you already have sort of filed. What is the timetable of those? When do you think we will know more about whether they will move on to the next stage of approval?
We expect decisions from the government for projects we have filed applications for this year. We expect governmental decisions during 2024.
Excellent. Thank you very much. That's, uh, that's all for me. Thanks.
Thanks.
As a reminder, if you wish to ask a question, please dial star five on your telephone keypad. There are no more questions at this time, so I hand the conference back to the speakers for any closing comments or written questions.
We have a few written questions. The first one is from [Ben Torquelandal]. The Arkona project seems to be partly on the same area as OX2 Triton project. Who decide which one has first option to this area?
Yes, in Sweden, there is no exclusivity to zones in the early phases, so that is decided after the applications have been filed. And yes, there are overlapping areas for that project with both Ørsted and OX2, and it will be up to the government to decide how to use that area if it should be split into several projects or if they dare to put it all in one basket, so to say.
And then we have a question from Mattias Ehrenborg . Is it reasonable to expect 100% revenue recognition in Q4 2023 for the SE3 projects under construction? And then you are referring to Skalberget, Utterberget, Tjärnäs, and Rosenskog. If they are handed over in the same period, or will there be a drag into Q1 2024? According to the agreement that we have with the customer, if we have the wind farms completed and finalized and handed over, then we will account for the total remaining degree of completion. So in that case, it will not be dragged over to Q1 2024. And then another question from Matthias: Due to the delays, will the remaining payment regarding Storsjöån be significantly lower than previously expected? Or how do the delays impact Eolus?
We have also another question about the same. If there's any negative financial impact anticipated from the delay in Storsjöån. As I mentioned during my presentation, we have made assumptions that we have enough reservations in our project budget to secure Eolus margin, and it should not be, as we see it for the moment, materially affected by the delay.
We could add also that since it is the contractor that is delayed, the contracts of course holds clauses about delay damages payable from the contractor.
... Then we also have another question, and that's regarding the interest-bearing debt that has increased during the quarter. And that's referring to the land lease agreement that we need to, there are terms in that agreement that needs to be reported as lease agreement debt in Eolus's books during the time that we are owning the U.S. project. And it's actually regarding the Home that we have made investment decision for during the quarter. And it says it's, they're interest-bearing, and it's due to specific calculations we need to do to have the amount set for the lease agreement in the balance sheet.
Yes, this is due to IF.
IFRS.
IFRS accounting status. Yes, we have to—So we have to have it both on the asset side and more or less the same amount on the debt side, on the balance sheet. So there has not been any cash flow connected to this, and both these items will go away when we sell the project.
I think that was more or less the last question. And actually, we have a question regarding the seminars that Eolus had before, and if there's anything that we're planning to start with again?
Yes, we know that the seminars we had in connection with our annual general meeting was very popular and appreciated. So we are evaluating if we should have them again or in some other format, but we have to come back with that.
We have no more questions.
Okay. Thank you all for listening in. Wish you all a nice Friday, and nice weekend. Thank you.
Thank you.