HIGHLIGHTS
MATURING PROJECTS UNDER DEVELOPMENT
* Buchan Offshore Wind submitted Offshore Scoping Report as first major
consenting process step
* Offshore installation of electrical hub on the EolMed project
* South Brittany bid submitted in October and preparation for Mediterranean
bid submission early 2024
* Signed MoU with Port Talbot (Wales) for feasibility study of concrete
floaters serial production
SECURING ADDITIONAL FUNDING AND MAINTAINING STRICT CASH DISCIPLINE
* BW Ideol and ADEME Investissement finalise agreement for joint offshore
floating wind development company and completes first financial closing on
October 3(rd )with EUR 17.9 million initial funding from ADEME
Investissement
* YTD 2023 engineering revenue of EUR 2.4 million
* Cash position of EUR 2.0 million at end of September 2023
* YTD 2023 operating cash-burn of EUR 5.2 million
RECOMMENDED VOLUNTARY OFFER TO ACQUIRE ALL SHARES IN BW IDEOL AS
* Offer by BW Sirocco Holdings AS, supported by 84.7% of existing BW Ideol
shareholders, including BW Offshore, Kerogen Capital, Larochette Invest
SARL, certain other investors and management
* Offer price of NOK 12 per share to be settled in cash or shares in BW
Sirocco Holdings AS
* Offer is recommended by the independent members of the Board of Directors
* Intention to delist the company from Euronext Growth upon completion of the
offer to facilitate access to growth capital
BW Ideol continues to make good progress in executing its dual-leg strategy as
co-developer of floating wind projects and as EPCI contractor of floating wind
technology by maturing ongoing projects and adding new opportunities to the
project pipeline.
RECOMMENDED VOLUNTARY OFFER
On 9 November, BW Sirocco Holdings AS announced a recommended voluntary offer to
acquire all outstanding shares in BW Ideol AS not already being held by the
Initiating Shareholders (as defined further below) at an offer price of NOK 12
per share to be settled in cash or shares in BW Sirocco Holdings AS (the
"Offer"). The offer price represents a premium of 42.2% to the closing price of
the shares on 8 November 2023. The independent members of the board of directors
of BW Ideol recommend shareholders to accept the offer.
BW Offshore Limited, Kerogen Capital Limited, Larochette Invest SARL and certain
other existing investors and management shareholders of BW Ideol (collectively
the "Initiating Shareholders") holding 84.7% of the shares outstanding in BW
Ideol have entered into agreements to contribute their shares to BW Sirocco
Holdings AS upon and subject to completion of the Offer. BW Sirocco Holdings AS'
intention is to conduct a compulsory acquisition of any remaining shares held by
minority shareholders following completion of the Offer and delist BW Ideol from
Euronext Growth Oslo.
FINANCIALS AND FUNDING
Revenue for the first nine months of 2023 was EUR 2.4 million, mainly related to
design and engineering activities in France, Norway, UK, Japan, the US and
Canada. This compares with EUR 5.1 million for the same period of 2022.
Operating loss before depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the period was
EUR 5.3 million compared to EUR 2.2 million in the same period of 2022.
At 30 September 2023, total equity was EUR 82.4 million and the equity ratio was
72%. Total cash was EUR 2.0 million, compared to EUR 9.1 million at 31 December
2022. Interest-bearing debt was EUR 9.8 million, which includes a EUR 5.0
million shareholder loan.
On 5 July, BW Ideol and ADEME Investissement signed the final agreement for a
EUR 40 million funding of BW Ideol's project co-development activities which
were transferred to BW Ideol Projects Company SAS. On 3 October, the two
companies completed the financial closing as planned with an initial investment
of EUR 17.9 million in the projects company. Following this, BW Ideol owns
75.81% of the projects company.
The state-owned French financier of innovative infrastructure projects will
increase its holding over time as further projects are matured and financed. BW
Ideol manages the development company through a service agreement and retains
full ownership of its other business activities and assets.
At the end of September 2023, the Company had drawn EUR 5.0 million under the BW
Offshore and Noria shareholder loan. BW Ideol continues to explore various
options to cover the Company's long-term financing requirements.
OPERATIONS
At the end of September 2023, BW Ideol had 1 GW of projects under development
and approximately 3.7 GW of substantiated pipeline. Business development
activity is high as nations and corporations seek ways to decarbonise various
industry value chains. According to DNV's Energy Transition Outlook 2023, global
wind electricity generation is set to grow by a CAGR of 8% to 18,300 TWh from
2022 to 2050, with onshore representing 91% of the production at the start of
the period and 70% in 2050. Offshore wind will expand significantly in the
period with floating wind set represent 5% of the total wind power generation or
approximately 950 TWh in 2050, compared to close to zero today.
In early October, Buchan Offshore Wind submitted its Offshore Scoping Report to
the Scottish Government's Marine Directorate, representing the first major step
within the consenting process for the 960 MW floating wind farm off the
northeast coast of Scotland. The Scoping Report contains details of the planned
project and the Environmental Impact Assessment approach, with stakeholders
being encouraged to provide comments and participate in the scoping process.
The BW Ideol Projects Company has a 33.3% equity holding in Buchan Offshore Wind
Limited. BW Ideol will design the floating foundations based on its proven and
patented Damping Pool® technology and holds an Initial Lease Agreement with the
Ardersier Port in Scotland for a concrete floater production line to address the
regional market.
Also in the UK, BW Ideol and ABP (owners of Port Talbot) have signed a
Memorandum of Understanding to investigate the feasibility of serialised
production of concrete substructures for floating foundations based on the BW
Ideol design in Port Talbot in preparation for the forthcoming Celtic Sea
leasing round announced by The Crown Estate. ABP is separately running its own
process to identify potential partners to assist it in the development and
financing of the infrastructure upgrade works required at Port Talbot.
Assembly of the three floating offshore wind turbines for the 30 MW EolMed
project progressed at Port-la Nouvelle, France, with prefabricated steel blocks
forming the floating substructures based on BW Ideol's patented Damping Pool
design. The offshore installation of the electrical hub was completed in the
quarter. The Company provides design support to construction and T&I (transport
and installation) contractors during the execution phase. BW Ideol has 5%
ownership in the project.
The collaboration with the EDF Renewables and Maple Power consortium for the
250 MW AO5 floating offshore wind tender near coast of South Brittany continued
with bid-submission in October as a major milestone. License award is expected
in February 2024. BW Ideol also cooperates with EDF Renewables and Maple Power
on the design of floating foundations for the AO6 floating wind tender in the
Mediterranean Sea covering two 250 MW sites. The consortium has been preselected
for the AO6 tender with submission planned in early 2024.
BW Ideol continues to progress projects and collaborations across multiple
regional markets including in the Iberian Peninsula, Japan, Taiwan, South
Korea... The Company also progresses several other initiatives including
detailed studies for power-to-platform projects in collaboration with BW
Offshore.
Floatgen floating unit installed offshore western France produced 0.73 GWh of
renewable power during the third quarter and at the end of the September
produced 27.5 GWh of electricity with high availability since commissioning,
reflecting the seakeeping performance of BW Ideol's proprietary Damping Pool
design.
OUTLOOK
BW Ideol has set a goal to be involved in an approximately 10 GW gross portfolio
of floating wind projects by 2030 by developing the existing pipeline and strong
joint venture partnerships, through scaling and optimisation of the patented
Damping Pool® technology, and by developing the global organisation and
leveraging the partnership with BW Offshore, including in the power-to-platform
market. The Group considers itself to be ahead of plan for the 10 GW target
based on the recent progress. The rapid global expansion of the commercial scale
floating wind market supports a continued strong market outlook.
Please find attached the third quarter 2023 presentation.
For further information, please contact:
Nicolas de Kerangal, Chief Financial & Partnerships Officer at BW Ideol, +33 (0)
7 76 87 70 08, ir@bw-ideol.com
This information is considered to be inside information pursuant to the EU
Market Abuse Regulation and is subject to the disclosure requirements according
to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. This stock exchange
announcement was published by Marie Bayard-Lenoir, Chief of Staff, on 9 November
2023 at 18:28 CET.
About BW Ideol:
BW Ideol is a leading fully integrated platform in floating offshore wind with
more than 12 years of experience from design, execution and development of
floating wind projects based on our patented floating offshore wind technology
and engineering capabilities. The company has a dual-leg growth strategy as a
floater EPCI and maintenance services provider and as a wind-farm project
developer and co-owner. BW Ideol has two full-scale offshore floating wind
turbines in operation in France and Japan, a significant project pipeline, and
is supported by BW Offshore's extensive experience from developing and operating
offshore energy production systems.