Aker Horizons Asa

Hello, everyone. My name is Lars Bære. Welcome to today's presentation of the first quarter results for ARCA Horizons. I will first comment upon some key developments since year end, and then we will take you through the status of the investment portfolio and the Q1 financials. The CFO of Mainstream, Julie Berg, will cover the update on Mainstream, and CFO of Horizons, Christopher Dahlberg, will, as usual, cover some of the update on the ARCA Horizons side. I will start with the common capture. In February, ACC announced the cash dividend of NOC 3.5 billion, equal to NOC 1.5 billion liquidity inflow to ARCA Horizons. The first payment of NOC 1.3 billion was received in March, and the remaining NOC 256 million was received yesterday. Certainly well received. Next, after securing the contract for the 400,000-tons Just Catch 400 unit for Hafslen Celsius in January, an earn-out payment of NOK 71 million has been received by ACC from SLB. Furthermore, the SLB Kapturi JV has continued to see significant commercial and front-end activity during the last quarter. So moving on to renewable energy development and our investment in mainstream. Firstly, mainstream continues to mature its development portfolio in core markets, and we expect to see a combined 350 megawatt of solar and onshore wind projects to reach financial close in the South Africa market within the next 18 months. The announced sale of the development portfolio in Colombia was closed in April. The divestment, totaling 675 megawatts, marks Mainstream's exit from the Colombian market as part of the updated strategy to focus its operations. Finally, on the Mainstream side, Morten Henriksen has started as the Group CEO of Mainstream. We're glad to see Morten coming in. He brings extensive management experience and deep sector expertise to the mainstream team. And this comes as part of the broader reorganization and the relocation of the corporate headquarters of mainstream from Dublin to Oslo. The next up is the developments within the sustainable assets development portfolio. During the quarter, we have continued together with our partner Nordkraft to explore to build data center business in Northern Norway. Here we will leverage the ready to build Kvandal site, which offers access to 230 megawatts of stable renewable energy in a very attractive energy pricing area. And we do see potential for value creation through expanding on power land to build an integrated data center business. We are currently working with data center industry players to develop the best possible business solution for this opportunity. On the other side, for Narvik Green ammonia, the project is awaiting feedback from Startnet on the application for the additional 200 megawatts of grid capacity. This is taking longer than previously anticipated, and therefore the DG2 milestone has been postponed until we obtain clarity on the grid allocation. And consequently, we've seen the need to also reduce project activity in order to do cost savings. Finally, over to SuperNode, a portfolio company that specializes in the development of next-generation superconducting cable systems for bulk electricity transfer. SuperNode has successfully completed its initial testing of the superconducting technology. The test was held at the facility in the UK, where electricity was transmitted through a six-meter prototype, utilizing their proprietary polymer-based cooling system. This holds a temperature of 200 degrees Celsius below zero. And next up is then a first full-scale demo, which will be a 30-meter transmission distance, which is planned for the middle of this year. This test will be certainly an important milestone for the technology verification process that Supernode is working on. Now we'll move on to the more detailed updates starting off with our investment in Aker Carbon Capture. As mentioned, Aker Isons received the residual dividend of NOK 256 million yesterday, which brings the total received dividend proceeds to 1.5 billion. Aker Carbon Capture has a remaining cash position of approximately 1.2 billion after disbursement of both dividend tranches. Through our ownership in Aki Carbon Capture, we continue to follow the industrial development of the SLB Capturi JV, where ACC holds 20%. Looking at the industrial and development activities, In January, the JV completed commissioning and handed over the carbon capture plant at Twent's waste to energy facility in the Netherlands. The facility is now in operation with CO2 offtake to the market. Further, there is also good progress on the other industrial projects in the JV, as shown on the bottom right side of the slide. Looking at the front end and development activities in the portfolio of SLB Capturi, one key activity is the cooperation with CO280, which is SLB Capturi's partner for scaling up carbon removal in US and the Canada market. CO2-80 has recently announced an agreement with Microsoft to capture and permanently store biogenic carbon emissions from a US pulp and paper mill. Microsoft will purchase 3.7 million tons of CDR over 12 years, marking one of the largest engineered carbon dioxide removal processes to date. And this agreement will certainly improve the likelihood of the project to be realized. And with that, I hand it over to the CFO of Mainstream, Julie Berg, to take us through the updates in the mainstream business. Thank you.

Thank you, Lars. I will now take you through Mainstream's developments during the first quarter of this year, starting with the key highlights. In Chile, the commercial margin for our Andes Renovables platform, which has one gigawatt of assets in operation, was affected by the nationwide electricity blackout that occurred in February, as well as the temporary reduction in transmission line capacity that followed. The construction of our curry wind farm is experiencing delays, however, is on target for COD in the second half of 2025. And in South Africa, our two projects in construction continue to progress, with the first one on track to reach COD in the second quarter and the Aliqua project remaining on schedule for completion in the first half of 2026. In addition to those two projects in construction, we also have a further three projects with an expected combined capacity of 350 megawatts advancing towards financial close within the next 18 months. And in April, we announced the planned sale of our 675 megawatt wind and solar portfolio in Colombia to local energy company Celsia Energía. The sale of these assets, which are predominantly in the early stages of development, marks Mainstream's exit from the Colombian market as we continue to focus on driving value creation and growth in core markets. And in February, we announced our intention to relocate our headquarters from Dublin to Oslo during 2025. This relocation is in line with our global cost reduction programme, which aims to reduce our cost base by approximately 65% by 2026 relative to 2023 levels. And also in February, we announced the appointment of Morten Henriksen as Group CEO of Mainstream. The offshore wind segment continues to experience challenges related to supply chain, regulatory environment, and political uncertainty, which impacts project viability assessments. MRP continues to review the commercial viability of its offshore wind portfolio with a target to realize accelerated exits. In Chile, then, the Andes Renovables platform continued to maintain a positive commercial margin in Q1, which was broadly in line with target. The margin declined compared to previous quarters. This is primarily due to a nationwide electricity blackout, which occurred on the 25th of February. leaving a large portion of the population without electricity. Following the blackout, the main north-south central transmission line experienced reduced capacity. This meant that the grid's ability to transmit electricity from northern and central regions to the southern areas was limited, which continued through to March the 18th, impacting our commercial margin. On the regulation front, further adjustments from the tariff stabilisation law are expected to be minimal in 2025 as the historical pickup resulting from the 2021 price freeze has largely been settled. And now on to the construction update, where I am pleased to report that our three wind and solar projects in construction continue to make steady progress towards their respective COD targets during 2025 and 2026. Starting in South Africa, our 97.5 megawatt solar PV project, which is a partnership with our local BBBE investors and supported by a 20-year corporate PPA with SASOL and Air Liquide, is progressing well towards its COD target in the second quarter of 2025. While Illiqua, our 50 megawatt solar PV project in partnership with Investec Bank Limited, is in the early stages of construction, having achieved financial close in Q4 2024, and is making solid progress towards its targeted commercial operation date in the first half of 26. The power from this plant is one of the first of its kind in South Africa to supply multiple private, commercial and industrial customers with more flexible energy contracts of between five and ten years through an aggregation platform. In Chile, our 109 megawatt curry wind farm located in the north of the country in partnership with Ares Management continues to progress well, with COD still targeted for the second half of this year. Having received full construction release from the Chilean National Monuments Council in July 2024, our contractors are now mobilized across the main site substation and overhead line. And as a reminder, the successful termination of the project's DISCO PPA in 2023 provides the project with interesting PPA optionality going forward. And then moving on to our development pipeline, we are advancing a number of key projects across our core markets, South Africa and Australia, demonstrating our ability to progress diverse opportunities globally. In South Africa, we have three wind and solar assets with an expected combined capacity of 350 megawatts at the late development stage and advancing towards achieving financial close in 2026. The first asset, the 100 megawatt Vreda solar PV project, is targeting the private CNI market through renewable energy supply agreements, RESAs, similar to ELICWA, with financial close expected towards the second half of this year, early 2026. The project is in the pre-construction stage with grid capacity reserved and project procurement and debt financing underway. The second project, the 150 megawatt Viahook onshore wind farm, is targeting financial close within the next 12 months. The project moved to the pre-construction stage in April with permitting completed, land secured and grid capacity reserved. And the third asset, the 100 megawatt Blackfontein solar PV project, which anticipates achieving financial close in mid-2026, is also at the pre-construction stage with permitting completed, land secured and grid capacity reserved. Moving to Australia, we continue to make progress on our two priority onshore wind projects in the promising market for renewable energy development. Starting with the 533 megawatt Sunny Corner project in partnership with local developer Sameva Renewables. in 2024 the project was awarded a development permit by the forestry corporation of new south wales for what will be one of the first wind farms to be hosted in a new south wales state plantation forest the installation of the met mast is taking place in quarter two and development work streams are ongoing to submit applications for planning approvals And then the 639 megawatt Haramai onshore wind farm is in the process of securing long-term land agreements and development studies are ongoing in preparation for the submission of planning approvals. And to conclude, mainstream is sharpening its focus on core growth markets, South Africa, Australia and the Philippines, where we see the greatest potential for value creation. This is demonstrated by the significant milestones achieved in 2024, including financial close on key projects, ongoing construction progress and the development of our high quality pipeline. As we move forward in 2025, we remain committed to capital recycling opportunities and are actively exploring new partnerships to support future growth. With a robust pipeline of projects, deep partnerships and a clear focus on operational excellence, we are well positioned to deliver on our mission of sustainable and innovative energy solutions globally. And with that, I hand to Christopher.

Thank you, Julia. Starting with some highlights from Akra Horizon's asset development, which develops industrial decarbonization assets. Leveraging the ready-to-build Kvandal site, which has 230 megawatt of electrical capacity installed today, we are exploring the opportunity to build a data center business in Northern Norway together with our local partner Nordkraft. We experience strong interest from a variety of data center players for this opportunity. At Kvandal, We have also applied for a grid concession from NVE for additional capacity. The application is progressing. The Ballangsleda site zoning plan has been on public hearing and feedback received has been implemented in an updated plan submitted now in April. The Norway Green Ammonia project is still awaiting feedback on the application for additional grid from Startnet, and consequently, the project has postponed its DG2 decision until clarity on the grid capacity is obtained. As a reminder, Powered Land is an 80-20 joint venture with regional utility company Nordkraft to develop industrial sites in the NO4 power zone in Northern Norway. offering stable renewable energy in a very attractive pricing area. Our nine industrial sites are strategically located close to the 420 kilowatt central grid and are at various stages of permitting for power intensive industries. We continue to experience significant interest from the data center industry from our Kvandals site. As mentioned by Lars, We are exploring the opportunity for data centers at Grandal. Our Powered Land Initiative has so far focused on the three stages of securing land, bringing greenfield land through zoning, and securing megawatts onsite. This new opportunity will also look at building and operating large-scale data centers for customers. The data center market is rapidly growing, driven by growth in AI and cloud computing, Building and operating data centers has higher value potential than powered land, but also increased capital requirements, risks, and longer timelines. Strong partnerships are key to realize the full potential of this opportunity. The Kandal site, where there is 230 megawatts of electrical infrastructure already built, is well positioned to attract customers with significant short-term need for computing capacity. will update the market on these developments as they mature. Moving to our Narvik Green Ammonia project in Northern Norway. The project has 250 megawatt grid reserved with Startnet and has applied for additional 200 megawatt. The outcome of the application for additional megawatt to Startnet was previously expected in the beginning of 2025. We have received feedback that this is taking longer than anticipated and ArcaHorizons is implementing cost reductions due to the increased uncertainty. The target DG2 date has consequently also been postponed until we receive feedback from StartNet. We will therefore revisit the project timeline once we have clarity on the outcome of the application. This marks the end of the update on asset development, and I will now move on to Acre Horizons financials. On the financials, the consolidated income statement for Horizons shows a total net loss of NOK 656 million for the first quarter, compared with a loss of 575 million in the previous quarter. ACC reported a net profit of 79 million, of which Acre Horizons' share is 34 million. The profit reflects ACC's share of loss of NOK 41 million from the SLB Kapturi JV. This is counted by 65 million NOK in financial income, being interest income and a positive fair value change on the financial instruments on the put call arrangement related to ACC's retained 20% shareholding in the SLB Kapturi JV. In addition, 71 million is booked as an additional gain from the sale to SLB as a milestone-based earn-out was met with the Celsius Award in Q1. Mainstream, the commercial margin in Andes was positive 14.5 million euro, equivalent to 169 million NOK. Revenue of 631 million mainly relates to energy sales in Chile. Operating expenses consist of around NOK 441 million related to production cost in Chile, payroll of 108 million and overhead of around 159 million, with the balance related to other items. Mainstream VTA for the quarter was negative 104 million. Cut reductions in mainstream are on track. 34 million euros in savings on payroll and overhead was realized in 2024, equivalent to 400 million NOK. Another 40 million euro or around 500 million NOK in annual cost savings are expected to be achieved in 2025 and 2026 through further cost optimizations. Depreciation is mainly related to Chilean production assets and amounted to 132 million in the quarter. Share of net loss in JVEs is mainly related to offshore JVEs with development activities. Net financials in mainstream were negative 265 million in the quarter, consisting mainly of about 125 million related to the corporate financing facility put in place at the end of 2023, 231 million NOK in deferred interest on project finance and mezzanine debt in Chile, and positive foreign exchange effects of around 73 million NOK from re-evaluation of receivables and corporate borrowings. Net loss for the quarter was 514 million NOK, whereof Aker Horizon's share is 285 million. Moving to AAD. AAD reported a net loss of 35 million, of which Acre Horizon's share was 30 million, reflecting development of the land portfolio, commercial efforts related to powered land, and costs related to the hydrogen business. Total consolidated loss in Q1 was 665 million, as mentioned, where Acre Horizon's share is 467 million NOC. Net capital employed reflects our initial investment in the portfolio company, adjusted for any profit loss since then, additional investments and FX revaluations. This is calculated as total assets less total liabilities. As of Q1, we have NOK 0.9 billion employed in ACC, 2.1 billion in mainstream, whereof 0.4 billion is related to offshore wind, 0.6 billion in AAD, 0.2 billion in supernode, and 0.6 billion in other assets. Total net capital employed of NOK 4.3 billion, where 2.6 is funded by debt, net of cash, and 1.7 billion by equity. During the quarter, the net capital employed was reduced by NOK 1.5 billion from our share of ACC, mainly due to Aker Rysen's share of ACC dividends. Further, MRP was reduced by NOK 430 million, of which 285 million is loss in the period, an additional 145 million is translation effect of MRP equity, reflecting weakening of the dollar and euro versus NOK in the quarter. Net capital employed in ARK Horizons as a development increased by 50 million, reflecting funding from Horizons of around 80 million and a loss in the business of 30 million. Supernode was reduced by 16 million. Lastly, Odder changed by negative 202 million, driven by a combination of sponsor fee income from MRP funding, dividend receivable of 256 million from the second tranche of dividend in ACC, offset somewhat by Accra Horizon's SG&A costs, changes in working capital and losses on FXHS related to MRP sponsor commitment. In sum, net capital employed was NOK 4.3 billion at the end of the quarter. This is an overview of Accra Horizon's external financing and commitments. We are currently in the process of optimizing Accra Horizon's balance sheet. At the end of the first quarter, we had about 4.1 billion NOK in cash and interest bearing debt of 6.7 billion, which matures in the next nine months. The subordinated shareholder loan and convertible bond matures in January and February next year, respectively, and amounted to NOK 4.2 billion in total. Aker, our main shareholder, holds over 90% of the dis-debt. We continue to have constructive dialogue with Aker regarding dis-debt majorities. Cutting costs and right-sizing the cost base is key for us. The currently undrawn €500 million RCF is costly to keep, and as previously mentioned, the company has decided not to exercise the option to extend it by one year. In April, Mainstream announced that new funding arrangements had been finalized. As part of this, Accra Horizons will provide a share of the loan to Mainstream of 129 million dollars, replacing the previous DNV facility to be phased over this year and 2026. In addition, Accra Horizons will provide a share of the loan of up to 45 million euros and guarantee an ELSI facility of up to 45 million. Drawdowns on these facilities are contingent on reaching certain milestones under the new MRP. strategy. The next slide outlines the new MRP funding in more detail. In early April, we announced that new funding arrangements for mainstream have been finalized, enabling mainstream to deliver on its updated and more focused strategy. In 2023, as part of the refinancing of the Alde 3 Renovables platform in Chile, Mainstream secured a corporate facility of $204 million with DNB, supported by its shareholders. Aqua Horizon's share of this sponsor commitment was $129 million. This amount will be provided from Aqua Horizon to Mainstream as a shareholder loan, dispersed in phases which was achieved through an extended letter of credit, expected to be converted to shared loans in 2025 and 2026. $75 million was disbursed in April. Going forward, the expected neutral profile of the loan includes $16 million later in 2025, and the remaining $38 million is expected in 2026. Moreover, Acre Horizons and Mitsui have agreed additional shared loans in the form of a shared loan facility of up to €64 million, provided through RATA, 70% by ArcHorizons and 30% by Mitsui, along with a letter of credit facility with D&D for up to €64 million, also backed through RATA by Horizons and Mitsui. Both facilities may be drawn until maturity at year-end 2026, with drawdowns contingent on reaching certain milestones under Mainstream's updated strategy. This brings us to available liquidity. At the end of the first quarter, Akko Horizons had a cash position of NOK 4.06 billion, and the RCF of 500 million euros was still undrawn. As previously mentioned, we did not renew the RCF, and therefore the facility will no longer be available to us going forward. At the end of the first quarter, total available liquidity, including the RCF, was 9.8 billion. Book value of the net interest bearing debt position was down from 3.6 billion at the end of the year to just below 2.6 billion at the end of first quarter, reflecting the received dividend from ACC offset by operating costs, interest paid and investments in our green projects and companies. Thank you for your attention. This concludes today's presentation and we will now open up for questions.

Yes, we will now answer some questions related to the quarter and going forward. My name is Mats Ektvedt from Corporate Communications. And in addition to Julie Berrig and Lars Berge, we have Christoffer Dahlberg and the CEO in Mainstream, Morten Henriksen, is joining us. Our first question is for Christoffer Dahlberg. How will Aqua Horizons refinance its upcoming debt maturities in 2025 and 2026?

As stated in the presentation, we are in the process of refinancing the balance sheet. We have debt maturities over the coming nine months, including the senior green bond in August and the subordinated debt in Q1 next year. Aker, our main shareholder, holds over 90% of the subordinated debt, and we continue to have constructive dialogue regarding these maturities. We will update the market on developments as they are concluded.

And again, welcome to you, Morten Henriksen, our new CFO in Mainstream. You state that you are looking to exit offshore wind. How should we think about timeline and what the form that might take?

Thank you. Mainstream has defined a new and more focused strategy which targets key growth platforms. Our floating offshore assets is not part of that key growth platform. We are targeting accelerated exits from offshore wind assets we have in the portfolio with an aim to realize exits in the near future.

All right, next question is for Lars Sperre. What do you see as the key strategic priorities for ARCA Horizons going forward?

For Horizons, it's still to seek to realize a comprehensive recapitalization of the balance sheet. certainly, and then also to increase cost focus and the investment policies in our portfolio companies. This will involve certainly to be an active owner of mainstream to ensure the implementation of the revised strategy. And then also, I think we will prioritize to try to realize the opportunities for data centers sitting in the parallel portfolio.

Thank you. And Morten, you have been here about a month. What are your key takeaways on Mainstream from your first weeks as CEO?

Mainstream is a company with high potential, while historically the financial performance has been challenging. With the new and focused strategy, we are taking steps to enhance our core platforms and position the company as a leading player in the renewable energy industry. We need to be more focused in our approach and make sure we strike the right balance between projects in development, construction, and assets in operation. It's time to start harvesting on the large portfolio of projects we have in the pipeline. Finally, I'd like to say that we have excellent people in the organization, and I'm very positive with respect to the significant restructuring we are carrying out right now.

Very good. Thank you, Morten. There is also a high interest in the data center opportunities in Northern Norway. So I think it's a question for you, Kristoffer, to elaborate on what potential data centers at Kvandal could mean for Aqua Horizons and what capital need this might entail.

Yeah, thanks. As communicated earlier, we are exploring opportunities for our site in Northern Norway, including a data center opportunity. We have for some time seen quite significant interest in our industrial sites in the Narvik area. both due to abundant green baseload power and an attractive climate for operating data centres, and particularly the Kvandals site with 230 megawatts ready to build is interesting. Building and operating data centres certainly has a higher value potential than power land. but it also comes with increased capital requirements, risks, and longer timelines. Strong partnerships are also key to realise the full value of this opportunity. It's still at an early stage, and I think it's a bit premature to give further details on how this may shape up, but we'll certainly work back to the market when we have concrete news to share.

Thank you so much for that, Christopher. With this, we conclude our presentation for the first quarter. Thank you all for your interest and your participation.