UTILITY COMPANY NTR has booked a profit of €830.8 million following the disposal of its windfarm unit Airtricity and the sale to the Government of its interest in the West-Link toll-bridge.
At an egm yesterday, investors in the business endorsed a €275 million "liquidity event" from which NTR chairman Tom Roche and his family will realise some €118 million in respect of their shareholdings. Investment firm One51 will receive €70.4 million and Standard Life will receive €20.35 million in the distribution, which comes 15 months earlier than mooted when NTR last raised capital.
Investors also approved a mechanism through which NTR staff who hold restricted shares can receive up to €30 million from the redemption of shares as restrictions on their sale fall away.
In addition, shareholders approved a €20 million contribution for the establishment of an NTR Foundation to support non-governmental organisations working in climate change, resource depletion and energy supply. The foundation, to be administered by independent trustees, will also support research projects in those areas.
Revenues rose to €421 million in the year to March from €252 million in the previous year and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) rose marginally to €86 million from €84 million.
NTR booked a €344.2 million profit from the sale of the West-Link concession and a profit of €535 million from the sale of Airtricity, whose North American windfarms went to Eon and whose European windfarms went to Scottish Southern. It also booked a €79.9 million loss from the closure of its German biodiesel unit.
The firm's waste unit Greenstar saw Irish revenues rise to €155 million from €136 million, revenues in Britain increase to €125 million from €55 million, and US revenues climb to €71 million from €1 million. Greenstar's Ebitda rose to €68 million.
NTR spent more than €300 million last year acquiring 12 operations for Greenstar in the US, Britain and Ireland. While NTR expects to have some €225 million in cash at its disposal after the liquidity event, company chief Jim Barry said Greenstar was likely to reduce acquisition activity.
NTR may invest a further €100 million in the equity component of acquisition deals for Greenstar, the value of which could be about €200 million when including debt.
NTR has completed a major reorganisation since the Airtricity deal. The merger of its US ethanol unit and Nasdaq-listed Green Plains Renewable Energy in May followed new investments in solar and wind power, deals in which it invested a total of €240 million.
Mr Barry suggested that some of NTR's individual business units may be listed in the medium-term but declined to name candidates.
The individual units are "far more understandable" than the parent company, he said. "In the three- to five-year timeframe, while the listing of the holdco [holding company] is probably off, the listing of subsidiaries may well be on the agenda."
