Kraken

Plutus PowerGen PLC on Thursday celebrated its maiden profit in the first half of its financial year after revenue soared 86% as the company continues to build out its power generation portfolio while diversifying into new areas. The company has advanced its pipeline of small sites in the UK that provide back-up power generation using diesel generators to help balance the UK's electricity grid, but has now started to also move into gas-fired generation. Plutus generates revenue from flat, fixed management fees that are paid by the special purpose vehicles that own the power generation sites. Currently, all revenue is coming from sites that were developed using funds from Rockpool Investments LLP. Plutus holds a 45% stake in each site and receives a fixed annual management fee of GBP150,000 from each site. Management fees are being received from nine sites at present, providing Plutus with annualised revenue of USD1.35 million. Each site has a capacity of 20 megawatts, with 180 megawatts currently being managed by Plutus at present. As a result, revenue in the six months to the end of October was GBP675,000, rising from GBP362,500 a year earlier. Finance costs remained broadly flat year-on-year and administration costs increased to GBP658,440 from GBP532,808, but Plutus still managed to squeeze out a significant, albeit tiny, pretax profit of GBP3,035 in the first half, swinging from the GBP183,937 loss last year. Although nine sites are under management, only one 20 megawatt site is currently operational. A further five sites with 100 megawatts of capacity have secured planning permission and another 100 megawatts of capacity have planning permission applications being considered. "Significantly, our first facility came on stream in November 2016, in time for this year's TRIAD season and this has been running reliably and effectively. We are planning to build a further five sites (or 100MW) during 2017, with these sites coming on stream for the 2018 TRIAD season, subject to connection," said Plutus. TRIAD refers to the system that encourages large industrial users of power to reduce their consumption at peak times to free up the grid, in turn lowering the company's bills. These customers have meters that measure their electricity consumption on a half-hourly basis – so-called half-hour metered demand – and how much they pay is determined by their demand during the Triads. "We also expect the final three planning permissions for the Rockpool Investee companies by the end of the second quarter of 2017, meaning that we will be well on the way to fulfilling our obligations under those arrangements," Plutus added. Plutus also won capacity market contracts for three sites with total capacity of 60 megawatts in the first half. Plutus now has 120 megawatts of capacity in total that has been awarded capacity market contracts, which pay generators a certain price to ensure investment in the sector continues and the UK's overall capacity does not drop to dangerous levels. From 2020, each of the three sites awarded a capacity market contract in the first half will receive additional annual revenue of around GBP450,000 over a 15-year period. After the end of the first half, Plutus formed an agreement with an unnamed large utility that is one of the Big Six, formed of SSE PLC, British Gas owner Centrica PLC, ScottishPower, EDF Energy, E.ON and Npower. The Big Six constituent has agreed to fund up to 20% of the cost of any future site developed by Plutus that is either powered by renewable energy or gas. "This fits well with the company's strategy to deliver projects in which it holds an 80% interest and this relationship is envisaged to provide sufficient equity to allow Plutus PowerGen to develop majority owned assets going forward," said Plutus. "We are also in negotiations with other interested parties to inject equity into new projects going forward on a similar basis to the 'Big Six' multinational utility company," Plutus added. Plutus believes access to debt to fund its portion of development costs will improve now it has the backing of a major blue-chip supplier. "As we move into 2017 the directors view the year ahead with confidence, as we continue the execution of the Rockpool Investee Companies' site build out and seek to develop our strategy of diversification into gas fuelled power generation sites in the future," said Executive Chairman Charles Tatnall.