Helius Energy reports almost £4 million loss for 2009
Tuesday 23 February 2010
Grimsby based biomass to energy developer Helius Energy plc has today (February 23) announced a loss before tax of nearly £4 million for the year ending September 30 2009, compared with a £30.67 million profit the previous year.
The company - which primarily deals with securing sites, financing and construction of biomass plants - achieved a gross profit of £13,025, but saw an operating loss of £4.64 million for the 2009 calendar year - marking a drop of nearly £36 million from 2008.
However, Helius claimed that the decline was a result of a lower forecast for energy prices in 2009 than in 2008 and its chief financial officer, Alan Lyons, stressed that part of the loss was made up of corporate costs which were entirely consistent with previous years.
Mr Lyons added: "In future years if energy prices go up we would expect to see the results go the other way.
"2008 saw a big profit due to us selling our first large biomass project to RWE and we have been able to use that money in other projects, but we cannot expect to make profits like that every year."
The company sold its 65MW Stallingborough project in North Lincolnshire to German renewable energy firm RWE Innogy for £28.14 million in September 2008 (see this NewEnergyFocus.com story).
Projects
Helius' financial results show that it invested £2.8 million into current projects in 2009, including a 100MW biomass project planned for Avonmouth (see this NewEnergyFocus.com story).
Other than the Avonmouth project, Helius is also working on a 6MW plant in Rothes, Morayshire, Scotland. It notes securing planning consent for the plant and entering into a joint venture with The Combination of Rothes Distillers for its development (see this NewEnergyFocus.com story) were key highlights for 2009.
Other highlights flagged up by the firm included:
- Making progress in negotiating sites for future large projects;
- Reorganising and strengthening the Board with a focus on project delivery, utility experience and project financing.
Results
More key financial data for 2009 shows that Helius' net finance income stood at £0.67 million and its net cash balance was £14.73 million.
Commenting on the results, Helius Energy's chief executive, Adrian Bowles, said: "Over the period since our admission to AIM, Helius has demonstrated the ability to identify, develop and implement multiple biomass energy projects.
"Helius' strategy remains one of focusing on delivering projects to financial closure, and managing their implementation and operation."
Helius was admitted on AIM - the London Stock Exchange's international market for smaller growing companies - in January 2007.
Looking forward, Mr Lyons added: "We are very pleased with our results. We still have £30 million of net assets, half of which are cash, which will help us take this business forward and we also expect to get a return on our investment into other projects."
Print
