Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Boralex's third quarter 2025 financial results conference call. Note that all lines are in a listen-only mode. Following the presentation, we will conduct a question-and-answer session in which financial analysts, shareholders, and investors will be invited to ask their questions by pressing star one and one on their telephone and wait for their name to be announced, or by using the Q&A box on the webcast.
Also note that the call is being recorded. For webcast participants, you can also ask questions during the conference, but they will be answered by email after the call. Finally, media representatives are invited to contact Amélie Aventure, Senior Advisor, Public Affairs and External Communications at Boralex. Her contact information is provided at the end of the quarterly press release. I would now like to turn the conference over to Coline Desurmont, Director Investor Relations for Boralex. Please go ahead.
Thank you, Operator, and good morning, everyone. Welcome to Boralex's third quarter results conference call. On today's call, Patrick Decostre, our President and Chief Executive Officer, will provide an update of our business. Afterwards, Stéphane Milot , our Interim Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, will present the financial highlights of the quarter. Then we will be available to answer your questions. During this call, we will discuss historical as well as forward-looking information. When talking about the future, there are a variety of risk factors that have been listed in our different filings, which can materially change our estimated results. These documents are all available for consultation on SEDAR. Mr. Decostre will now start with his comments. Please go ahead, Patrick.
Thank you, Coline, and good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us today. It's a pleasure for me to present our results and achievements for the third quarter of 2025. The total combined production for the third quarter increased by 9% compared to the same period of 2024, primarily driven by the contribution of newly commissioned sites in Europe. The third quarter clearly reflects the benefits of our diversification by technology and region. While wind conditions in North America had been compensating for unfavorable conditions in France since the beginning of the year, the situation completely changed in the third quarter. Conditions in France, while still below expectations, were more favorable than in North America. Combined EBITDA was CAD 108 million, down CAD 1 million compared to Q3 2024. The increase in production was not sufficient to offset the negative impact of lower prices of short-term power purchase agreements in France.
During this quarter, we continued to make progress across our development project portfolio, adding 395 MW of new projects. Additionally, four contracted solar projects in the United States reached the secured stage, adding 250 MW AC to our growth path. This quarter is also marked by significant headway in construction and commissioning of major projects in Canada. We now have 3.4 GW of assets in operation in our four key geographies and 558 MW of projects under the construction and ready-to-build stage. In particular, the commissioning of the Apuiat wind farm, co-developed with the Innu communities, is a key strategic milestone for Boralex. Apuiat is the first wind farm in the Côte-Nord region and a powerful symbol of the revival of Québec wind energy.
As we wrap up our 2025 strategic plan and look ahead to 2030, Apuiat illustrates our vision of sustainable growth and our deep commitment to the energy transition. We would like to thank our team for their resilience, adaptability, and focus that were key to deliver this landmark project. During this quarter, we also continue to make progress with the construction of our projects in Canada. In Ontario, the construction of the two battery storage projects, Hagersville and Tilbury, is advancing as planned, with commissioning scheduled by the end of the year. We were thrilled to share that Hagersville was recognized by the Canadian Renewable Energy Association, CanREA, with the Innovative Canadian Clean Power Project of the Year award. This recognition reflects our commitment to innovation and active contribution to the energy transition.
It is part of a series of acknowledgments that highlight our dedication to sustainable development, which remains at the core of our business strategy. The Dénage Sud Project is also progressing well as we have started building the wind turbines foundation at the site in recent weeks. Turning to market updates, Québec continues to show strong momentum in renewable energy development amid rising pressure to meet growing energy needs. The upcoming Plan de Gestion Intégrée des Ressources Énergétiques, expected in April, will provide a detailed assessment of these needs and could introduce more ambitious targets, potentially requiring Hydro-Québec to revise its capacity expansion plans upwards. At the federal level, the latest budget introduced a 15% Clean Electricity Investment Tax Credit, equivalent to the 30% Clean Technology Investment Tax Credit already available, further enhancing the investment landscape for future projects.
In Ontario, the IESO launched its long-term 2 RFP LT2 to support new energy and storage capacity. Boralex submitted a proposal during the October energy window and is now advancing preparations for the second phase, the December capacity window, further strengthening our position in this key growth market. In the United States, NYSERDA launched its 2025 renewable energy solicitation, with final results expected in February 2026. Boralex is preparing to submit bids, supporting its expansion in this market. In the U.K., the United Kingdom remains a strategic market for Boralex, with strong growth ambitions over the coming years. The AR7 procurement round is currently open, with submission deadlines scheduled between November and January. Our U.K. team is actively preparing to submit competitive bids.
In France, Boralex participated in the onshore wind call for tender last July, and we are pleased to announce that we were awarded two projects totaling 125 MW, placing us first in cumulative capacity. Across the tender, 42 projects were awarded out of 90 submissions at an average tariff of EUR 86.6 per MWh . This result confirms our strong position in the French onshore wind market and highlights our ability to deliver ambitious projects under competitive conditions. Contracts awarded to Boralex will benefit from above-the-average prices, confirming the excellence of our bidding teams. I will now briefly review the main variances in our development project portfolio and growth paths.
The decrease in our development project portfolio was mainly due to the transition of four contracted solar projects to the secured stage, the disposal of a portfolio of small solar projects in France, and the revision of the installed capacity of a battery project in Ontario, partially offset by the addition of 395 MW of wind and solar projects in the early and mid-stage. In total, our portfolio of early, mid, and advanced stages projects now consists of projects totaling more than 7 GW of wind, solar, and battery storage projects. In the third quarter, our growth path represents a capacity of 1,030 MW, reflecting a net increase of 147 MW compared to the previous quarter. The transition to the secured stage of four contracted solar projects in the United States partially offsets the commissioning of Apuiat in Canada.
In addition, the Le Grand Camp repowering wind project in France, with a total planned capacity of 14 MW, moved from the secured stage to the construction or ready-to-build stage during this quarter. This completes my part of the presentation. I will now hand over to Stéphane, who will provide a more detailed overview of our financial results. I will be back later for the Q&A session. Stéphane.
Thank you, Patrick, and good morning, everyone. Thank you for being on the call with us. I understand there are a lot of companies reporting today, so a very busy day for all of you. As mentioned by Patrick, the regional contribution to the production and overall result changed in the third quarter compared to the trend we had observed in the first half of the year. Total combined production was up 9% compared to the same quarter last year, mostly driven by the impact of newly commissioned facilities in Europe. It is important to consider that production in the third quarter of 2024 was weaker than expected, which explains why the year-over-year comparison looks good, while when we compare to the anticipated production of the third quarter of 2025, the production is 13% lower.
This decrease was due to unfavorable weather conditions in North America for wind and hydro, and to a lesser extent for wind in Europe. Our combined EBITDA amounted to $108 million, down $1 million, primarily due to the impact of lower prices of short-term contracts in France, partially offset by the commissioning of new assets. Discretionary cash flows amounted to $9 million, down $7 million compared to the third quarter of 2024. I will now provide a more detailed overview of our quarterly production. Production for wind assets in North America was 8% higher compared to the same quarter last year. However, production came in 16% below expectations, mainly due to lower contribution from Canadian wind farms and the delayed commissioning of the Apuiat projects. Production from hydro assets was 15% lower than last year and 16% lower than anticipated, mainly due to unfavorable weather conditions in the United States.
Production from solar assets in the United States was 3% higher than the same quarter last year, but 9% lower than anticipated. In Europe, total production was 19% higher compared to the same quarter last year, but 9% lower than anticipated, mainly due to unfavorable conditions in France and a longer-than-expected outage at a Limekiln wind farm in August to undertake planned work on the transition line. Regarding our balance sheet, available liquidity and authorized financing totaled $ 811 million as of September 30th, an increase of $ 288 million compared to December 31 of last year. Total debt increased to $ 4.4 billion, with project debt accounting for 87% of the total. During the quarter, we continued to advance our financing strategy in support of our growth initiatives and capital diversification.
In France, we have repaid our construction facility following the previously announced incremental tranche of $ 164 million added in July under the term loan of two wind farm portfolios. Finally, on the CSR front, as we advance our 2030 strategic plan, sustainability remains central to our operation, from workplace culture to community engagement. This third quarter, we made tangible progress across our strategic pillars, including project development, commissioning, and partnership. In a dynamic market environment, our teams continue to execute with discipline and determination. We submitted wind projects under Ontario's LT2 request for proposal in October and are actively preparing for upcoming procurement rounds in the U.K., Ontario, and New York. With a strong development project portfolio, growing demand across our markets, and solid financial flexibility, we are well-positioned to deliver on our strategic objective and create long-term value for investors. This completes my part.
I will now hand it to the operator for the question period. Thank you.
Thank you. As a reminder to ask a question, please press star one and one on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. To withdraw your question, please press star one and one again. Once again, please press star one and one on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. If you wish to ask a question via the webcast, please type them in the question box and click submit. Thank you. We are now going to proceed with our first question. The questions come from the line of Baltej Sidhu from National Bank of Canada. Please ask your question.
Hey, good morning, and thanks for taking my question. Just on the France strategy, could you provide any incremental updates or share your current views thinking regarding the French strategy, particularly in relation to contracts rolling off and your views around recontracting, repowering, or potential sell-downs, which is notable in light of the announcement from yesterday?
Yeah, essentially, all the decrease and the end of the contract that we signed in 2022 was known and scheduled. We have a clear path and strategy to say we want to contract the price going forward, a certain percentage of our generation, expected generation, with a certain percentage as close as we are to the real time, let's say, okay? Two years in advance or three years in advance, we start contracting, and then this percentage increases, so we are catching the right price and not speculating on the price. That is one side for the in operation. What we have too, and you have noticed that we have a repowering strategy that we had before in 2020 and 2021 that we put on the shelf a little bit during the high price period and the high price window, and now we have that again.
For example, one of the two projects that we just got awarded is the Alli repowering, with an increase from 39 MW to 104 MW project with a great price for the next 20 years. This is part also of our strategy in France. Considering the limited amount of new project authorization, the repowering strategy is a great strategy that we will continue to have in France to increase the revenue and secure them on the long term.
Maybe if I could add, go ahead, Baltej. Yeah.
Sorry, I just wanted to add, I think France still has a goal of embedding, I think, 10 GW of onshore wind capacity through 2028. Just given the contracts are rolling off and to Patrick's comment that it's more beneficial to repower just given the land and such, we could probably see Boralex looking at more repowering opportunities in that regard. Would that be a fair assumption to see?
Yeah, and on top of this, it is clear that there was some, I would say, instability in the French government the last year. Now we have the beginning of the week when the Prime Minister and the Minister of Energy declared the award of the last tender. They confirm that the next subject on their file, on their desk, is the Programmation Pluriannuelle de l'Énergie, so it is the planification of the energy, and this is needed for the renewable industry, but also for the nuclear industry. There is a lot of pressure in France to release these documents, and that is expected in the next weeks or months. You mentioned during the fall, so the fall is not long.
Baltej, as you know, it's taking a bit longer now to seal the project in France. It's sure that we have a very strong pipeline, but the years 2026, 2027, are, I would say, lower than what we would like them to be in terms of addition of capacity, but it's ramping up after. There are two things there. We will work for sure on efficiency improvement during that period. We believe that the situation in France could eventually lead to a potential transaction. We'll be looking at this market carefully, knowing that, however, as we've talked in the past, the U.K. and U.S. are really two areas where we want to focus in terms of M&A, but France could become an interesting region if the market remains tough.
Great. That's great color. Just another one for me, if I may. It's great to see the 250 MW Fort Covington Solar Project advance to the secured stage in the U.S. Could you share any updates on the other project, the 200 MW for Two Rivers, and how discussions are progressing there?
Yeah, they are really going ahead next. It's a fact that on the cut of the quarter for Fort Covington, make it probably next month, next quarter, sorry, of Two Rivers will do it again. So we're really working close to close on this project and consider them to take a financial and final investment decision beginning of next year. The team are working hard on that.
Great. Thanks for the cover. I'll leave it there. Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you, Baltej.
Thanks, Baltej.
We are now going to proceed with our next question. The questions come from the line of Nelson Ng from RBC Capital Markets. Please ask your question.
Great. Thanks, and good morning, everyone. I had a quick follow-up on your French Project commentary. I think, Patrick, you mentioned that one of your wind projects will be repowered to the size of 104 MW. That is pretty big for a wind project in France. I think they are usually a lot smaller. Are the size of your developments in France increasing, or is this more of a one-off size?
Yeah, thank you, Nelson. It's a good question. In 2005, Alli was the largest site in France for all the market, and it seems that it will continue. It's a repowering and extension of the project. We are changing. We are today distribution connected. We will be transmission connected. It's a place where there is room for repowering and extension. It's clear that we're working since years to increase the size of the project. That's why, for example, we have sold some small solar projects, and we're always looking to increase the size of the project. This is something that is on our side too.
Thanks. Just switching gears a bit. You announced that you've entered into a five-year contract for the 50 MW Milo Wind Project in New Mexico. I think when you bought the portfolio in New Mexico and Texas, a few other projects were either merchant or going to be merchant in a few years. I think, is it Hereford and Longhorn? Are those facilities still merchant, and are there plans to contract them under medium-term contracts? Finally, could you just talk about the market? I presume power prices have moved higher or demand has moved higher given that there's a lot of data center talk in that region?
Yeah, you're right, and we have some inbounds on customers and potential partners on this project too. The team is working anywhere in Boralex to optimize the asset value. This is the case in New Mexico and ERCOT, generally speaking.
Okay, great. Thanks. I'll leave it there.
Thank you.
Thank you, Nelson.
Thank you. As a reminder to ask a question on the phone, please press star one and one on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. To withdraw your question, please press star one and one again. If you wish to ask a question via the webcast, please type them in the question box and click submit. We are now going to proceed with our next question. The questions come from the line of Mark Jarvi from CIBC. Please ask a question.
Thanks, morning, everyone. Patrick, you brought up the Québec situation. Can you just update us in terms of when you think the next RFPs come and just sort of the status of involvement potentially for Boralex on these gigawatt scale wind cooperative projects?
Yeah, essentially, there are some, say, rumors in the market that it could be soon, but we will see what Hydro-Québec and the government will decide going further. It's sure that there is some interesting factors somewhere, which are the fact that the export will start in New York next April. I think the export to Massachusetts will start in December. All this will increase the demand somewhere in Québec. We are doing our job as much as possible to be prepared to be a good partner of Hydro-Québec on this project. We are also preparing us if there is an RFP for 350 and under RFP that Hydro-Qu é bec will do the classical procurement process. We are also ready to bid project there. We are working on this.
If you had to say the probability of securing another contract in Québec, is it more likely on the bilateral negotiations or through the classical RFP process?
Yeah, I think what I'm saying is I am asking the team to work on both scenarios because it's the best way to increase the probability, whichever scenario will come. I cannot tell you which scenario Hydro will decide in terms of first procurement and afterwards if we will be competitive on both. We are trying to be competitive in both scenarios. Due to all the demand in Québec, I think potentially both scenarios will come. We should be prepared for both.
Okay. With the budget earlier this week in Canada, there was mention of potentially introducing domestic content requirements for eligibility for the tax credits. Do you see that as a risk, or do you think being a company that's developed in Canada for a long time gives you an edge on that in terms of procurement versus newer entrants to the Canadian market?
Yeah, this is something we are monitoring, but we're not seeing that as a big risk presently.
Okay. Thanks.
Thank you.
Thank you. We have no further questions on the phone line, so I'll hand back to you for any webcast questions that you may have.
Good. Maybe a point before we—oh, is there another question?
No, we have no questions.
Operator? Okay. Maybe a point before Coline doing the closing remarks. I just want to remind everyone that there's going to still be a price effect in Europe for the fourth quarter. Also, there's going to be contribution from COD site Hagersville, Tilbury, and Apuiat. Just there, it's going to be a positive and a negative outside of the normal weather conditions. As always, December, Q4 is a strong period for us, so we hope that the weather will be on our side for this quarter. Thank you.
Thank you, Stéphane, and thanks, everyone, for your attention. Our next conference call to announce fourth quarter results will be held on Friday, February 27, 2026, at 11:00 A.M. Have a nice day, everyone, and a nice weekend.
Thank you.
This concludes today's conference call. Thank you all for participating. You may now disconnect your lines. Thank you.