Friday, August 20, 2010

First Wind's first-half revenue doubles over 2009

By Kyle Alspach

First Wind Holdings Inc., a Boston-based wind power project developer, saw its operating revenue for the first half of the year nearly double compared to the same period in 2009, according to a regulatory filing.

Operating revenue came in at $40.7 million for the first six months of 2010, compared to $20.9 million a year earlier, First Wind reported in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The company made the filing in connection with its plans to hold an initial public offering – intentions that the company first disclosed in July 2008. No updates were given about the share price range or timing for the offering.

First Wind’s operating loss also doubled on a year-over-year basis during the first half of the year, to $42.6 million from $21.4 million, the company reported in the filing. First Wind said it expects its net losses to continue and its use of cash for operating activities to grow during the next several years, “as we increase our development activities and construct additional wind energy projects.”

“Wind energy projects in development typically incur operating losses prior to commercial operation at which point the projects begin to generate positive operating cash flow,” the company said.

First Wind has developed wind projects that are operational in Maine, New York, Hawaii and Utah, and is in the process of developing a project in Vermont. The company said in the filing that it had seven operating projects as of June 30, with a combined capacity of 504 megawatts.

First Wind also characterized its debt load as “substantial,” reporting that it was carrying $516.9 million in debt as of June 30. Among the company’s loans is a $77.3 million loan that comes with a 17 percent annual interest rate and matures in March 2013.

In July, the U.S. Department of Energy announced that it had granted a $117 million federal loan guarantee to First Wind to build and operate the 30-megawatt Kahuku Wind Power project in Hawaii.