Western Wind Energy Reports Net Earnings of $0.13 per Share for the
Third Quarter Ended September 30, 2012
TSX.V Symbol: "WND"
OTCQX Symbol: "WNDEF"
Issued and Outstanding: 69,449,541
VANCOUVER,
Nov. 29, 2012 /PRNewswire/ - Western
Wind Energy Corp. (the "Company") reported today, its unaudited
condensed interim consolidated financial results for the three and
nine months ended September 30, 2012.
For complete details of the third quarter Condensed Interim
Consolidated Financial Statements and related Management's
Discussion and Analysis, please see the Company's filings on SEDAR
(www.sedar.com) or on EDGAR (www.sec.gov). All amounts herein
are reported in U.S. dollars unless otherwise specified.
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
- On July 30, 2012, the Company
announced that it would be seeking a buyer for the Company and its
assets. On August 10, 2012, the
Company announced that it had engaged Rothschild (Canada) Inc. as its lead financial advisor to
manage and structure a comprehensive and efficient auction process,
with PI Financial Corp. engaged as a co-advisor. On October 24, 2012, the Company announced that the
auction process was progressing as planned, with a limited number
of bidders having been invited to conduct a second round of very
extensive due diligence, as well as the addition of new
participants as the proxy battle caused at least 8 weeks of delay
in the auction process due to the uncertainty caused by a proxy
battle. On November 23, 2012,
Brookfield Renewable Energy Partners L.P. ("Brookfield"), announced
Brookfield's intention to make an
offer to acquire all of the outstanding common shares of the
Company for cash consideration of C$2.50 per share (the "Brookfield Offer"). On November 26, 2012, the Company issued an
announcement to highlight that some of the initial expressions
received from auction participants that are currently conducting
due diligence in the second round of the process, would imply a
value significantly greater than the Brookfield Offer. There is no
guarantee that any of the initial expressions of interest received
by the Company will result in a formal offer being made or a
binding agreement being entered into at this time.
- The Company's generating facilities produced operating revenues
of $8,353,723 (2011 - $747,281) and $27,641,941 (2011 - $2,305,843) for the three and nine months ended
September 30, 2012, respectively.
- For the three months ended September 30,
2012, net earnings improved significantly to $8,524,018, or $0.13 per share, compared to a net loss of
($1,581,610) (negative $0.03 per share) for the same period in
2011. For the nine months, net earnings increased to
$10,254,631, or $0.16 per share compared to a net loss of
($3,214,675) (negative $0.06 per share) for the same period in
2011.
- For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2012, adjusted earnings before
interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, and other
expenses or income ("Adjusted EBITDA"1) increased to a
loss of $(788,828), or a negative
$0.01 per share1, compared
to loss of $(1,282,278) (negative
$0.02 per share), and increased to
$12,121,114, or a positive
$0.19 per share, 1
compared to a loss of $(2,842,028)
(negative $0.04 per share) the 2011
comparative periods.
- On July 16, 2012, the Company
received $78,334,713 in tax free cash
grant under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code Section 1603 in
connection with its 120MW Windstar project. $68,933,897 was used to repay Windstar bridge
financing, $5,248,127 was used to
increase the debt service reserve account and $4,710,468 was set aside in restricted cash for
the ongoing arbitration between the Company and its deferred
financing vendor. The amount awarded was $12,221,994 less than the $90,556,707 included in the Company's application
and the Company has subsequently provided further supporting
documentation to the Department of Treasury to support and request
this shortfall. Ongoing communication and numerous
discussions with the Department of Treasury have been positive
to-date. While the Company is hopeful that an additional
amount will be received, the timing and amount are uncertain and
therefore the Company has not accrued this shortfall in its
financial statements as at September 30,
2012.
- On October 31, 2012, the Company
was in compliance with its Windstar senior secured notes agreement
covenants and received its first distribution of $2,307,622.
- On November 16, 2012, the
Company's subsidiary Western Wind Energy US Corporation closed a
$25,000,000 corporate loan. The
corporate loan is structured in two parts, with the first draw of
$15,000,000 being available
immediately for repayment of the Company's existing corporate
bridge financing, and is secured by a lien on future Windstar cash
distributions and an equity interest in its direct borrowing
subsidiaries. The term of the loan will be for five (5) years
and with an interest rate hedge, the annual interest rate will not
exceed 11.5% for the term of the loan. The second commitment of
$10,000,000 would be available to
partially fund the Company's equity contribution and/or the REC
promissory note to the Yabucoa solar project and to facilitate
financial close of project financing, and will be secured by a lien
on future Yabucoa cash distributions and an equity interest in its
direct borrowing subsidiaries. The Yabucoa commitment under
the corporate loan agreement expires May 16,
2013 and a commitment fee of 4% per annum is charged on the
undrawn amount. As partial consideration for advancing the
loan, the Company issued to the Lender an aggregate of 400,000
share purchase warrants for a five (5) year term and an exercise
price of $2.50 per share for a period
of five (5) years after the date the Lender's Warrants are
issued. In addition, the Company will grant the Lender a
security interest in and to certain of its projects and assets as
security for the facility.
- On November 16, 2012 the Company
received $15,000,000 from its first
draw on the corporate loan. These proceeds were used to pay
the arrangement fee, transactions costs and to repay the following
corporate bridge financing, extinguishing all terms and conditions
of the respective agreements; the $778,287 loan was repaid; the $2,220,000 loan was repaid, the $2,764,395 loan was repaid, and a partial payment
of $4,373,498 was paid on the
$5,070,840 loan.
SELECTED QUARTERLY
INFORMATION |
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Three Months Ended
September 30
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Nine
Months Ended
September 30
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2012 |
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2011 |
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2012 |
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2011 |
Total operating
revenues |
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$
8,353,723 |
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$
747,281 |
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$
27,641,941 |
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$
2,305,843 |
Adjusted EBITDA1 |
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(788,828) |
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(1,282,278) |
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12,121,114 |
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(2,842,028) |
Net earnings (loss) |
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8,524,018 |
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(1,581,610) |
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10,254,631 |
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(3,214,675) |
Adjusted EBITDA per share |
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- Basic |
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$ (0.01) |
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$ (0.02) |
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$ 0.19 |
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$ (0.05) |
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- Diluted |
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$ (0.01) |
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$ (0.02) |
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$ 0.19 |
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$ (0.05) |
Earnings (loss) per share |
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- Basic |
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$ 0.13 |
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$ (0.03) |
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$ 0.16 |
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$ (0.06) |
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- Diluted |
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$ 0.13 |
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$ (0.03) |
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$ 0.16 |
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$ (0.06) |
Weighted average commons shares
outstanding |
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- Basic |
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65,745,516 |
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59,850,396 |
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63,519,756 |
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58,180,213 |
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- Diluted |
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67,163,980 |
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59,850,396 |
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64,709,149 |
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58,180,213 |
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Operating Revenues
For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2012, operating revenues increased
from $747,281 to $8,353,723, and from $2,305,843 to $27,641,941, compared to operating revenues for
the 2011 comparative periods, respectively. This increase in
operating revenues was driven by a 408% increase in energy
production to 63,944MWh (2011 - 12,591MWh) and by a 389% increase
in energy production to 234,202MWh (2011 - 47,914MWh) for the three
and nine months ended September 30,
2012, respectively, due to the additional energy production
and sales from the newly operational Windstar and Kingman generating facilities.
Adjusted EBITDA
For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2012, adjusted earnings before
interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, and other
expenses or income ("Adjusted EBITDA"1) increased to a
loss of $(788,828), or a negative
$0.01 per share,1 compared
to a loss of $(1,282,278) (negative
$0.01 per share) and increased to
$12,121,114, or a positive
$0.19 per share,1 compared
to a loss of $(2,842,028) (negative
$0.05 per share) the 2011 comparative
periods.
Net Earnings (Loss)
For the three and none months ended September 30, 2012, net earnings increased to
$8,524,018, or a positive
$0.13 per share, compared to a net
loss of $(1,581,610), or a loss of
$(0.03) per share, and to
$10,254,621, or a positive
$0.16 per share, compared to a net
loss of $(3,214,675), or a loss of
$(0.06) per share.
NON-GAAP PERFORMANCE MEASURES
Adjusted EBITDA, and Adjusted EBITDA per share,
are non-GAAP performance measures that management uses to assess
the amount of cash generated by the Company, and to measure the
operating performance of the Company, excluding the effects of
interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, and other
expenses or income. Management measures performance,
excluding these items, as they may be non-cash, unusual in nature,
and/or are not factors used by management for evaluating the
operating performance of the Company. Adjusted EBITDA, and
Adjusted EBITDA per share, are not recognized measures under GAAP,
and therefore, may not be comparable with those presented by other
reporting issuers. Further, Adjusted EBITDA is not intended
to be representative of cash flows from operating activities or the
results of operations as determined in accordance with GAAP.
However, the Company believes that these measures are important, as
they provide management and the reader with additional information
about its operating, and cash generating capabilities, and
facilitates the comparison of results over different periods.
ABOUT WESTERN WIND ENERGY CORP.
Western Wind Energy is a vertically integrated
renewable energy production company that currently owns wind and
solar generation facilities with 165MW of rated capacity in
production, in the States of California and Arizona. Western Wind further owns
substantial development assets for both solar and wind energy in
the U.S. and Canada. The
Company is headquartered in Vancouver,
BC and has branch offices in Scottsdale, Arizona and Tehachapi, California. Western Wind
trades on the Toronto Venture Exchange under the symbol "WND", and
in the United States on the OTCQX
under the symbol "WNDEF".
The Company owns and operates three wind energy
generation facilities in California, and one fully integrated combined
wind and solar energy generation facility in Arizona. The three operating wind
generation facilities in California are comprised of the 120MW
Windstar, 4.5MW Windridge facilities in Tehachapi, and the 30MW Mesa wind generation
facility near Palm Springs.
The facility in Arizona is the
Company's 10.5MW Kingman
integrated solar and wind facility. The Company is further
developing wind and solar energy projects in California, Arizona, and Puerto
Rico.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
"SIGNED"
Jeffrey J. Ciachurski
President & Chief Executive Officer
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services
Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX
Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this release.
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT ON FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
This news release contains certain statements
that may be considered "forward-looking statements, such as
references to the intended sale of Western Wind Energy Corp. and
its assets. Forward looking statements are statements that are not
historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by
the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends",
"estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or
that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or
"should" occur. The forward-looking statements in this press
release include statements regarding the intention of the Company
to complete the sale of the Company or its assets. The
forward-looking statements included in this press release are based
on reasonable assumptions, including that the Company will be able
to successfully identify a prospective buyer, negotiate the terms
of sale and satisfy all conditions required to complete the sale.
Factors that may cause results to vary from anticipations include
the risk that the proxy dispute with Sativr may disrupt and impede
the sale process, the risk that the Company may not be able to
successfully identify a buyer, negotiate acceptable terms or obtain
all applicable government, regulatory and shareholder consents
required to complete the sale, that the terms of those consents may
not be acceptable to the Company, or, assuming the Company is able
to successfully complete the sale, the Company is not able to
achieve expected results following such sale. Although
Western Wind Energy Corp. believes the expectations expressed in
the forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions,
such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual
results may differ materially from those contained in forward
looking statements. Forward looking statements are based on
the beliefs, estimates and opinions of Western Wind Energy Corp.'s
management on the date the statements are made. Western Wind Energy
Corp. undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking
statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or
opinions, or other factors, should change, except as required by
law.
1 Refer to "Non-GAAP Performance Measures"
SOURCE Western Wind Energy