Ellomay Capital — FY16 weak, but case remains

Ellomay Capital — FY16 weak, but case remains

As flagged at the 9M16 results, due to factors well beyond management control – namely lower solar radiance, currency movements and spot power prices – FY16 was a less favourable year for Ellomay. The over 20% drop in reported EBITDA meant the company was loss making for the year. We view these headwinds as one-off factors and, due to Ellomay’s track record on cost control, actually increase our earnings forecasts for FY18 (FY18 reported EBITDA up 7.4% versus old forecasts) and afterwards. A weaker euro means we reduce our FY17 earnings in US$, but our revenues are only marginally different at constant currency. Higher cash flow taken together with the same valuation methodology means we increase our fair value per share to $10.93, up 4.7% versus our last note, which offers 31% upside.

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Ellomay Capital

FY16 weak, but case remains

FY16 results

Utilities

9 May 2017

Price*

US$8.31

NIS30.70

Market cap

US$89m

NIS328m

*Priced as at 8 May 2017

NIS3.64/US$

Net debt (US$m) at 31 December 2016

34.1

Shares in issue

10.7m

Free float

31%

Code

ELLO

Primary exchange

NYSE

Secondary exchange

TASE

Share price performance

%

1m

3m

12m

Abs

3.9

4.9

7.8

Rel (local)

2.6

0.9

(7.5)

52-week high/low

US$9.6

US$7.0

Business description

Ellomay Capital owns an international portfolio of power generation assets comprised of solar plants in Italy and Spain and a gas-fired power plant in Israel. It is also developing an anaerobic digestion plant in the Netherlands. It operates principally in regulated markets.

Next events

Q117 results

May 2017

Analysts

Jamie Aitkenhead

+44 (0)20 3077 5700

Roger Johnston

+44 (0)20 3077 5722

As flagged at the 9M16 results, due to factors well beyond management control – namely lower solar radiance, currency movements and spot power prices – FY16 was a less favourable year for Ellomay. The over 20% drop in reported EBITDA meant the company was loss making for the year. We view these headwinds as one-off factors and, due to Ellomay’s track record on cost control, actually increase our earnings forecasts for FY18 (FY18 reported EBITDA up 7.4% versus old forecasts) and afterwards. A weaker euro means we reduce our FY17 earnings in US$, but our revenues are only marginally different at constant currency. Higher cash flow taken together with the same valuation methodology means we increase our fair value per share to $10.93, up 4.7% versus our last note, which offers 31% upside.

Year end

Revenue ($m)

PBT*
($m)

EPS*
($)

DPS
($)

P/E
(x)

Yield
(%)

12/15

13.82

1.86

0.35

0.00

23.6

N/A

12/16

12.87

(1.25)

(0.18)

0.23

N/A

2.7

12/17e

13.50

3.75

0.26

0.23

31.6

2.7

12/18e

15.09

5.79

0.41

0.23

20.4

2.7

Note: *PBT and EPS are normalised, excluding amortisation of acquired intangibles, exceptional items and share-based payments.

Strong cost management as headwinds bite

It was encouraging to see Ellomay’s management cushion the effect of difficult operating conditions by controlling costs. Gross profit was only down c $400k, while revenues decreased by c $1m y-o-y. Cost increases such as that in G&A were due principally to investment in new projects. Manara alone accounted for some $1.8m of costs in FY16, which should bring future returns for shareholders, plus future costs are likely to be capitalised, reflected in our increased FY17 estimates.

Optionality remains through new projects

Little new information was released at FY16 regarding new projects such as the Dutch waste-to-energy and the Manara Cliff pumped storage project. However, the company did announce on 30 April that it had entered into a €10m agreement to purchase shares in a proposed 300MW solar photovoltaic (PV) plant in Cáceres, Spain and announced on May 4 that it had entered into another project in the Netherlands for the construction of an anaerobic digestion facility.

Valuation: $10.93 per share and 31% upside

We increase our sum-of-the-parts derived fair value per share by 4.7% to $10.93, versus $10.44. We have not changed any of our valuation methodologies (multiples, discount rates, etc), rather the slight increase in fair value is a function of a ‘roll forward’ in our valuation. Dorad, which is the main driver of the uplift, increases in value as we roll forward our DCF valuation. The solar operations have also been rolled forward, but with a smaller impact due to a different operating environment. The 31% upside to our fair value from $8.31 at the time of publication is attractive and the introduction of a dividend in FY16 at $0.225/share offers a 2.7% yield.

FY16 weak, but due to well-flagged short-term factors

With a well-flagged drop in reported EBITDA of over 20% due to short-term factors – lower solar radiance and lower spot prices – Ellomay’s operating performance over the year was well beneath previous years.

Exhibit 1: FY16 vs FY15 numbers

US$000s

2015

2016

% y-o-y

Italy Revenues (Edison estimates)

10,620

9,870

-7.1%

Spain Revenues (Edison estimates)

3,197

3,002

-6.1%

Group Revenues

13,817

12,872

-6.8%

EBITDA (company definition; including associates and exceptionals)

9,685

7,492

-22.6%

Associates

2,446

1,505

-38.5%

Operating Profit (before amort. and except.)

2,306

1,004

-56.5%

Profit Before Tax (norm)

1,859

(1,251)

Profit After Tax (norm)

3,792

(1,876)

EPS normalised (US$)

0.35

(0.18)

DPS (US$)

0.00

0.23

N/A

Source: Ellomay, Edison Investment Research

Results analysis

Power output: As we highlighted at our 9M16 results review, due, predominantly, to lower solar radiance levels in Spain and Italy, Ellomay’s power output was lagging behind previous years. Over the course of the year, we calculate Ellomay’s solar power output was down 4.2% (Italy down 5.5% and Spain down 1.1%).

Spot prices: Although a smaller moving part than the decline in power output, especially given the fact that most of Ellomay’s earnings come from regulated power price subsidies, the fact that Spanish spot prices were down 20.8% and Italian power prices declined by 17.7% in FY16 acted as another drag on earnings.

Cost analysis: Ellomay’s focus on cost management went some way to cushioning the effect from lower power output. While revenues were down by $1m, gross profit was only down by $400k ($6.051m to $5.683m). This was due to a significant reduction in operating expenses. Company management has indicated that lower insurance, operating and maintenance and municipal tax costs lay behind the cost decrease. FY16 G&A costs of $4.679m (up $934k vs FY15) further reduced the operating performance but c $1.800m ($1.027m in FY15) of this line item is in relation to the proposed Manara project and the company hopes to capitalise such costs in the future. Furthermore the company reduced salary costs by over $300k and there was a near $500k increase in professional services, some of which is in relation to the proposed Dutch waste to energy project.

Associates: The contribution from Ellomay’s 9.375% stake in the Dorad gas-fired power plant declined year-on-year by $941k to $1.505m. Little operating information is disclosed but we note there was an approximate 0.5% tariff reduction in FY16.

Updates on new projects: In the FY16 announcement, Ran Fridrich, Ellomay’s CEO, stated that FY16 was “characterised by intensive project development activities, including the Manara pumped storage project, waste-to-energy projects in the Netherlands and other projects in the photovoltaic field in Israel and Europe. I expect that we will start to see the fruits of these efforts in 2017.”

Cash flow: Net debt increased by 1.3% vs FY15 to $34.1m. Cash flow from investing came in at $1m for the year versus our forecast of $10m. Capex of $5.388m was higher than we had forecast. These movements were partially offset by the increase in cash flow from operations versus our previous estimates, which was driven by a $5.1m interest payment from a loan to an equity accounted investee.

Net debt increased year-on-year, also due to the financial closing of the new subsidiary in the Netherlands (initially consolidated in 2016) adding project financing of approximately US$6m.

Financials and forecasts

We marginally reduce our solar PV output assumptions and change our €/US$ FX assumptions, with the result that our FY17 revenue forecasts are reduced by 5.6%. Our FY17 company definition EBITDA forecasts are reduced by just 0.7% due to cost improvements, but our (Edison definition) EPS forecast in FY17 declines by 20.5%. Higher depreciation and net interest charges account for the difference. Even in FY18, for which we have not changed our FX assumptions, our EPS assumption is 7.9% lower, in part due to higher depreciation and a higher net interest charge due to higher net debt. Despite the fact net debt is materially higher versus our forecasts, we are unconcerned due to the regular income stream Ellomay produces from its solar PV assets. Net debt to reported EBITDA peaks at 2.55x in FY17, while based on a more conservative definition of EBITDA (Edison), it peaks also this year at 3.42x, which is an undemanding multiple for a regulated operating company.

Exhibit 2: Ellomay earnings forecast changes

US$000s

2017e

2018e

2019e

New revenues

13,497

15,092

15,092

Old revenues

14,293

15,134

± New vs old

-5.6%

-0.3%

New EBITDA (company definition)

11,249

13,042

13,265

Old EBITDA (company definition)

11,323

12,244

± New vs old

-0.7%

6.5%

New equity investments

2,871

3,305

3,581

Old equity investments

2,871

3,174

± New vs old

0.0%

4.1%

New EBITDA (Edison definition)

8,378

9,737

9,683

Old EBITDA (Edison definition)

8,451

9,070

± New vs old

-0.9%

7.4%

New operating profit

6,211

7,997

8,212

Old operating profit

7,187

8,325

± New vs old

-13.6%

-3.9%

New profit for the year

2,810

4,343

4,706

Old profit for the year

3,561

4,750

± New vs old

-21.1%

-8.6%

New reported basic EPS (US$)

0.26

0.41

0.44

Old reported basic EPS (US$)

0.33

0.44

± New vs old

-20.8%

-8.2%

New EPS (Edison definition) (US$)

0.26

0.41

0.44

Old EPS (Edison definition) (US$)

0.33

0.44

± New vs old

-20.5%

-7.9%

New net debt

28,641

22,725

15,603

Old net debt

20,562

15,066

± New vs old

39.3%

50.8%

Source: Edison Investment Research

Assumptions

We have tweaked our power output assumptions as we forecast future load factors as a function of average load factors historically. Therefore FY16’s lower output due to low radiance means we nudge our assumptions down by a couple of per cent. By far the more meaningful change, however, is the stronger dollar. Given the company reports in US dollars and earns the bulk of its revenues in euros, the recent weakening of the euro versus the dollar has decreased our FY17 forecasts and we view it as sensible to alter our FY17 US$/€ exchange rate (from €0.90 to €0.94) to reflect the change. Note that in the absence of this currency move, our revenue forecasts would only be down by 1-2%.

Exhibit 3: Edison assumption changes for Ellomay

Assumptions changes

Unit

2017e

2018e

2019e

New Italy power output

KWh

30,516,454

30,516,454

30,516,454

Old Italy power output

KWh

31,381,506

31,381,506

31,381,506

± New vs old

-2.8%

-2.8%

-2.8%

New Spain power output

KWh

12,668,060

12,668,060

12,668,060

Old Spain power output

KWh

12,715,876

12,715,876

12,715,876

± New vs old

-0.4%

-0.4%

-0.4%

New US$/€

0.94

0.85

0.85

Old US$/€

0.90

0.85

0.85

± New vs old

4.2%

0.0%

0.0%

Source: Edison Investment Research

Valuation

We continue to value Ellomay on a sum-of-the-parts basis. The solar assets are valued by an average of a DCF (WACC 5.7%, terminal growth 1%), EV/EBITDA and per KW multiple. The equity stake in Dorad is valued by DCF (WACC 8.0%, terminal growth 1%). We subtract FY16’s (Edison definition) net debt of $34.079m in arriving at our fair value per share of $10.93, which offers 31% upside, and is a 4.7% increase since our last publication. We do not include any value from the Dutch waste-to-energy assets or Manara Cliff in our estimates.

Exhibit 4: Ellomay sum-of-the-parts

Segment

 

EV (US$000s)

Solar Operations

Blended: 10x FY18e EBITDA, DCF (WACC 5.7%), $3,500/ KWh installed capacity

93,433

Dorad Investment

DCF (WACC 8.0%, terminal growth 1%)

57,323

Group enterprise value

 

150,757

Less: FY16 net debt

 

34,079

Less: pensions and other

 

0

SOP valuation

 

116,678

Current number of shares (m)

 

10.7

Current price US$/share

 

8.31

Fair value per share US$/share

 

10.93

Upside/(downside) to FV (%)

 

31.5%

Dividend yield (%)

 

2.7%

Total return (%)

 

34.2%

Source: Edison Investment Research

Exhibit 5: Financial summary

US$000s

2015

2016

2017e

2018e

Year end 31 December

IFRS

IFRS

IFRS

IFRS

PROFIT & LOSS

Revenue

 

 

13,817

12,872

13,497

15,092

EBITDA (company definition)

 

 

9,685

7,492

11,249

13,042

EBITDA (Edison definition, excluding associates)

7,218

5,888

8,378

9,737

Operating Profit (before amort. and except.)

2,306

1,004

3,340

4,692

Intangible Amortisation

0

0

0

0

Exceptionals

21

99

0

0

Other

3,485

704

0

0

Operating Profit

5,812

1,807

3,340

4,692

Net Interest

(2,893)

(3,760)

(2,465)

(2,206)

Share of assocs/jvs gains/(losses)

2,446

1,505

2,871

3,305

Forex gains/(losses

0

0

0

0

Other

0

0

0

0

Profit Before Tax (norm)

 

 

1,859

(1,251)

3,746

5,791

Profit Before Tax (FRS 3)

 

 

5,365

(448)

3,746

5,791

Tax

1,933

(625)

(937)

(1,448)

Profit After Tax (norm)

3,792

(1,876)

2,810

4,343

Profit After Tax (FRS 3)

7,553

(603)

2,810

4,343

Average Number of Shares Outstanding (m)

10.7

10.7

10.7

10.7

EPS - normalised ($)

 

 

0.35

(0.18)

0.26

0.41

EPS - normalised and fully diluted ($)

 

0.35

(0.18)

0.26

0.41

EPS - (IFRS) ($)

 

 

0.70

(0.06)

0.26

0.41

Dividend per share ($)

0.00

0.23

0.23

0.23

EBITDA Margin (%)

52.2

45.7

62.1

64.5

Operating Margin (before GW and except.) (%)

16.7

7.8

24.7

31.1

BALANCE SHEET

Fixed Assets

 

 

126,814

120,628

118,711

117,222

Intangible Assets

0

0

0

0

Tangible Assets

78,975

77,066

72,278

67,483

Investments

33,970

30,788

33,659

36,965

Other

13,869

12,774

12,774

12,774

Current Assets

 

 

33,513

34,641

33,152

35,015

Stocks

0

0

0

0

Debtors

8,218

9,952

8,024

8,972

Cash

18,717

23,650

24,088

25,004

Other

6,578

1,039

1,039

1,039

Current Liabilities

 

 

(10,103)

(11,102)

(9,968)

(10,095)

Creditors

(4,092)

(4,963)

(3,829)

(3,956)

Short term borrowings

(6,011)

(6,139)

(6,139)

(6,139)

Other

0

0

0

0

Long Term Liabilities

 

 

(56,159)

(56,302)

(51,302)

(46,302)

Long term borrowings

(48,117)

(48,385)

(43,385)

(38,385)

Other long term liabilities

(8,042)

(7,917)

(7,917)

(7,917)

Net Assets

 

 

94,065

87,865

90,593

95,840

CASH FLOW

Operating Cash Flow

 

 

9,989

10,684

9,171

8,916

Net Interest

(2,904)

(3,049)

(2,465)

(2,206)

Tax

(2,174)

571

(937)

(1,448)

Capex

0

(5,388)

(250)

(250)

Acquisitions/disposals

0

0

0

0

Equity financing

0

0

0

0

Financing

0

0

0

0

Dividends

0

(2,404)

(2,402)

(2,402)

Other

(4,485)

(1,856)

2,871

3,305

Net Cash Flow

426

(1,442)

5,988

5,915

Opening net debt/(cash)

 

 

32,932

33,636

34,079

28,641

HP finance leases initiated

0

0

0

0

Other

(461)

(999)

550

0

Closing net debt/(cash)

 

 

33,636

34,079

28,641

22,725

Source: Ellomay Capital accounts, Edison Investment Research

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Tel Aviv +44 (0)20 3734 1007
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Herzilya Pituach, 46766

Israel

Frankfurt +49 (0)69 78 8076 960

Schumannstrasse 34b

60325 Frankfurt

Germany

London +44 (0)20 3077 5700

280 High Holborn

London, WC1V 7EE

United Kingdom

New York +1 646 653 7026

245 Park Avenue, 39th Floor

10167, New York

US

Sydney +61 (0)2 8249 8342

Level 12, Office 1205

95 Pitt Street, Sydney

NSW 2000, Australia

Tel Aviv +44 (0)20 3734 1007
Medinat Hayehudim 60

Herzilya Pituach, 46766

Israel

Research: Consumer

Evolva — Agreement reached

EverSweet is due to be launched in 2018 following the recent, much-awaited collaboration agreement with Cargill. Evolva is due to participate in the JV at the 30% level, and will also benefit from a new state-of-the-art bioprocessing facility for its other products. Our fair value is CHF0.81 per share and we believe the current share price offers a good entry point.

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