Inspenet, May 6, 2023
The Colombian electricity company Celsia , of Grupo Argos, has reached an agreement with Fontus Spain, a subsidiary of EnfraGen, for the sale of some of its generation assets in Panama and Costa Rica.
This decision is due to the reorientation of its investment strategy in Central America, in which it will focus on solar energy for business clients, asset management and energy efficiency solutions.
The transaction is valued at USD 194 million and will allow Celsia to continue deploying its strategy focused on renewable energies, especially solar and wind energy in its different geographies, as well as seek opportunities to strengthen the asset management and energy efficiency portfolio in Panama and other countries in the region.
The asset sale operation includes the Dos Mares hydroelectric complex in Chiriquí (Panama), with a capacity of 118 MW, the Divisa (9.8 MW) and Celsolar (9.7 MW) solar farms in Chiriquí (Panama) and the Guanacaste wind farm (Costa Rica) with a capacity of 50 MW.
With the sale of these assets, Celsia will reduce its consolidated debt by USD 198 million and improve the return on invested capital (ROCE) by 4%, despite the fact that its EBITDA will decrease by COP 222,000 million, according to the results of 2022.
Ricardo Sierra, leader of Celsia, affirmed that with this operation they will be able to improve their financial flexibility and, by doing so, their profitability indicators will improve substantially. In addition, he highlighted that the sale of part of their generation assets to EnfraGen will allow them to develop a different way of approaching geographic diversification, seeking the development of greenfield projects.
Although this operation implies the dismissal of a group of people who have worked in these operations for Celsia, the company recognized their outstanding performance and highlighted that the sale is carried out in the best conditions for them and for the company. The transaction will take approximately three months to complete.
With the resources obtained from the sale of these assets, Celsia will focus on offering a competitive, flexible portfolio that adjusts to the needs of Central American clients, strengthening its liquidity position and improving the return on invested capital. Likewise, it will look for opportunities to continue developing renewable energy projects in the region.
Celsia sells assets and bets on solar energy
Celsia currently has projects underway that will add 55 solar MW by the end of 2023 and plans to have 200 MW installed by 2026. The company will focus its business strategy in Central America on solar energy for corporate clients, asset management (transmission and distribution) and energy efficiency. The company hopes that the sale of these assets will allow it to continue growing in renewable energy, reduce its debt and support the repurchase of shares approved at the recent meeting.
Source : https://www.rumbominero.com/colombia/electrica-colombiana-celsia/
Photos : Shutter Stock
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