Boralex Inc.

Bonjour, Mesdames et Messieurs, et bienvenue à la conférence téléphonique portant sur les résultats financiers du quatrième trimestre et de l'exercice 2025 de Bourg-Alex. Veuillez noter que toutes les lignes sont en mode d'écoute seulement. À la fin de la présentation, il y aura une période de questions-réponses au cours de laquelle les analystes financiers, actionnaires et investisseurs seront invités à poser leurs questions. Pour poser une question, veuillez composer le étoile 1 et 1 et attendez l'annonce de votre nom. Please note that this conference is recorded. For participants in the webcast, you can also ask questions at the end of the conference using the Q&A box at any time, but these will be answered by mail after the call. Finally, media representatives who have questions are invited to contact Camille Aventure, Chief Public Affairs and External Communications Advisor at Boralex, aux coordonnées indiquées à la fin du communiqué trimestriel. J'aimerais maintenant passer la parole à Colline de Surmont, directrice des relations investisseurs de Boralex. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Boralex's fourth quarter 2025 financial results conference call. Please note that all lines are in a listen-only mode. Following the presentation, we will conduct a question and answer session in which financial analysts, shareholders, and investors will be invited to ask their questions. To register your questions, please press star 1-1 and wait for your name to be announced. Please also note that the conference is being recorded. For webcast participants, you can also ask questions during the conference by typing them in the question box and click submit. but they will be answered by email after the call. Finally, media representatives are invited to contact Camille L'Aventure, Senior Advisor, Public Affairs and External Communications at Boralex. Her contact information is provided at the end of the quarterly press release. And now I would like to turn the call over to Colline de Surmont, Director, Investor Relations for Boralex. Please go ahead.

Thank you, Operator. Good morning, everyone. Welcome to Boralex's fourth quarter and your end results conference call. On today's call, Patrick Decostre, our president and chief executive officer, will provide an update of our business. Afterwards, Stéphane Milot, our executive vice president and interim chief financial officer, will present the financial highlights of the quarter. Then, we will be available to answer your questions. During this call, we will discuss historical as well as forward-looking information. When talking about the future, there are a variety of risk factors that have been listed in our different filings, which can materially change our estimated results. These documents are all available for consultation on CEDAW. Mr. Dacoste will now start with his comments. Please go ahead, Patrick.

Thank you, Colleen, and good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us today. It's a pleasure for me to present our results and key achievements for the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2025. 2025 was a year of strong execution for Boralex, despite greater quarterly volatility in resource generation and unfavorable year-over-year pricing comparison in France. We remain disciplined in our approach, focused on our long-term strategy and continue to deliver sustainable growth while reinforcing our leadership in renewable energy. We have been very active in the fall by submitting projects in four different RFPs, two in Ontario, one in New York State, and one in the UK. The demand for renewable remains very solid in our different markets, and we're counting on a very strong pipeline of projects to benefit from for years to come. These results not only reflect the strength and commitment of our talented teams across the organization, but also the resilience of our business model and our strong focus on creating long-term value for our shareholders and partners. In terms of financial performance, for fiscal year 2025, total combined production was 8% higher than in 2024, but 10% below anticipated production. Wind conditions in 2025 improved compared to last year throughout North America, and the commissioning of new projects provided a significant advantage. However, overall wind levels in France and in the United States fell short of our projections. As a result, our financial performance in 2025 is below our expectations for a combined operating income of 248 million CAD and a combined ABDA of 655 million CAD down 2% from 2024. The increase in production was not sufficient to offset the negative impact of lower selling prices in France as expected due to lower prices on our short-term contract. Stéphane will cover later in more detail our fourth quarter results. On the development side, 2025 was a very good year for Boralex, with our portfolio of development projects and growth trajectory no exceeding 8.2 GW. Our installed capacity stands at 3.8 GW, representing an increase of 615 MW driven entirely by organic growth. During the year, our company entered a new phase with the launch of our 2030 strategic plan, building on the strong foundation we have established over many years and setting a clear path for continued long-term success. Since its introduction, we have made significant progress in our four key markets. In the United Kingdom, The commissioning of Lime Kiln Wind Farm reflects our expansion in that high potential market. Our position was also solidified with receiving ministerial approval for the 189 megawatt Clash in the Rock extension, which includes both wind and battery storage, and with the recent award of a CFD for the Salaki 44 MW Salaki wind farm through the AR7 process. Meanwhile, in France, we have consolidated our leadership position with the commissioning of two wind farms, Fontaine-les-Boulans and Febvin-Palphar, totaling 29 MW. In addition, Boralex ranked first by cumulative capacity in the most recent French wind auction, securing two projects with a total capacity of 125 megawatts. In the US, we signed two contracts with NYSERDA for the Fort Covington and Two Rivers solar project, totaling 450 megawatts. Both projects have advanced to the secured stage within the year. Looking to our progress in Canada, the commissioning of our APWIT wind farm marks an important step in Quebec's renewable energy journey. We are also moving forward with the construction of two major wind projects, Dénes Sud, for which we secured financing earlier this year, and most recently, Desneiges, Charlevoix. Finally, we reached an important milestone with the successful deployment of battery energy storage technology. This quarter, we commissioned the Sanjagan Battery Energy Storage System, Boralec's first operational storage project in North America, developed in partnership with the Whirlpool Island First Nation. The Agersville battery energy storage project also began operations in Q4 2025 and we are very pleased to announce the commercial commissioning of the site as we received yesterday the retroactive confirmation from ISO effective February 18. This project is the largest battery storage project in Canada and has been developed in partnership with the six nations of the Grand River partners, First Nations. Together, this project adds 380 megawatts to our installed capacity, making us the largest battery storage operator in Canada. They also highlight the rapid expansion of our storage activities in Ontario and the continued diversification of our portfolio in terms of technologies and also in terms of type of revenues. Both projects demonstrate our team's strong execution and ability to successfully scale new technologies in your region. Turning to market updates, Québec continues to show strong momentum in renewable energy development, Hydro-Québec has confirmed that it will launch a new call for wind power tenders in spring 2026 for Southern Québec, while launching earlier this week a call for partners for its major development zone. With our sustained presence and ongoing development activities in this market, we're well positioned to capture these upcoming opportunities. At the federal level, Ottawa has introduced a 25 global tariff on certain steel derived products, including wind turbines towers, while also tightening import quotas. Partial exemptions have been granted and additional carve outs may follow particularly for projects already contracted or currently under procurement. In the United States, NYSERDA 2025 call for tenders closed in December, with results expected shortly. Also, NYSERDA has been granted expanded authority to procure up to 5.6 TWh per year by 2029, signaling continued policy support and long-term demand for renewable energy in New York State. In France, after a period of uncertainty, the publication of the third pluriannual energy plan in February 2026 finally sets the country's energy trajectory through 2035. It aims to increase the share of decarbonized energy in final consumption to around 60% by 2030, supported by a mix of renewable energy and nuclear generation. The framework also confirms the relaunch of renewable energy tenders starting in 2026. I will now briefly review the main variances in our development project portfolio and growth path. Our portfolio of early, mid, and advanced stages project now represents 7.2 gigawatts. The change was mainly due to the addition of projects in the early and mid stage totaling 1,383 megawatts, partly offset by the transition of project to the secured stage and by the discontinuation or sale of other projects. The growth path now consists of 1.1 gigawatts of wind, solar, and battery storage projects. The evolution of the growth path included the addition of new projects in the secure stage, including Fort Convington and Two Rivers solar projects totaling 450 megawatts and the 125 megawatt Oxford BESS project. This increase was partially offset by the start of operation of six projects during the year, representing 615 megawatts that moved into operation. At the beginning of its new strategic plan, Boralex is very well positioned to deliver strong organic growth going forward in each of its targeted markets. Before ending it over to Stéphane, I would like to say a few words on the appointment of Philippe Bonin as the new CFO announced this morning. I'm very pleased to welcome Philippe in the Boralex team. Philippe will bring extensive leadership experience from major companies in a variety of sectors and a strong strategic mindset that will be essential in supporting our 2030's growth ambitions. We look forward to his contribution as we continue to make Boralex evolve to deliver on our key objective. I also want to sincerely thank Stéphane Milot for his outstanding work during the interim period. His dedication and deep understanding of our business has been invaluable during this transition. On a more personal note, Stéphane, I want to express how grateful I am to be working with you. Your truly compassionate and people-centered leadership has made a meaningful impact here at Borale. You are highly appreciated throughout the company, and we are very lucky to have your ongoing support and great spirit, well beyond the scope of your responsibilities. Thank you, Stefan. Merci.