ContourGlobal PLC (LSE:GLO), the owner and operator of contracted power generation plants, reported record results for 2021.
Revenue rose 53% to a record US$2.15bn from US$1.41bn the year before while adjusted underlying earnings (EBITDA) also hit a new high, rising 17% (15% on a constant currency basis) to US$842mln from US$722mln.
Profit before tax virtually doubled to US$142.9mln from US$72.3mln, thanks largely to the acquisition of Western Energy Group in the first quarter of 2021.
The fourth-quarter dividend has been hiked to 4.465 cents, equivalent to 3.3923p, representing a 10% increase on the year before.
Net debt at the end of the year had swollen to US$3.8bn from US$3.5bn a year earlier.
The group’s president and chief executive officer, Joseph Brandt, said ContourGlobal made “excellent progress” on the repowering of its portfolio of wind farms in Austria and executed a further bolt-on solar acquisition in Italy while in early January 2022, it sold its Brazil hydro business in what is the first step in the offloading of its renewables portfolio in the country.
“We are confident about our growth prospects and ability to create value through a combination of operationally led value-accretive M&A [mergers & acquisitions] and greenfield development in both the thermal and renewable space. As with the sale of our Brazilian renewables business, we will continue to take major steps to unlock and return value for shareholders as evidenced by the more than 50 pence per share returned to shareholders in the past four years,” Brandt said.
“The European power markets are experiencing unprecedented stress owing to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Our European portfolio is highly diversified and this diversification is a source of robust resilience. We see significant opportunity in this market and believe the diversity of our global business is a source of risk mitigation underpinning our financial commitments including our dividend increases. Looking forward to 2022 and beyond, we remain confident and committed to creating value and delivering attractive risk-adjusted returns for our shareholders,” he added.
Shares in ContourGlobal were up 0.6% at 191.6p in the first hour of trading.