Polaris Renewable Energy Announces Q4 and Year End 2022 Results

TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / February 24, 2023 / Polaris Renewable Energy Inc. (TSX:PIF) ("Polaris Renewable Energy" or the "Company"), is pleased to report its financial and operating results for the three and year ended December 31, 2022. This earnings release should be read in conjunction with the Company's consolidated financial statements and management's discussion and analysis, which are available on the Company's website at www.PolarisREI.com and have been posted on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The dollar figures below are denominated in US Dollars unless noted otherwise.

HIGHLIGHTS

• The Company closed an acquisition of a solar facility in the Dominican Republic on June 28,2022 as well as an acquisition of a hydroelectric facility in Ecuador on September 7, 2022. All consolidated results and highlights below include production numbers, revenues and costs from such acquisitions since the respective closing dates.
• Annual consolidated energy production of 649,756 MWh (net) for the year ended December 31, 2022, of which 439,090 MWh (net) was contributed by the Company's geothermal facility in Nicaragua: an aggregate of 172,847 MWh (net) was contributed by the Company's hydroelectric facilities in Peru. A total of 28,401 MWh (net) was contributed by the Company's solar facility in Dominican Republic, and 9,418 MWh (net) was contributed by the Company's hydroelectric facility in Ecuador.
• The Company generated $62.6 million in revenue from energy sales for the year ended December 31, 2022, compared to $59.5 million in the same period in 2021. The increase was the net result of additional revenue from the two new facilities located in Dominican Republic and Ecuador, acquired during 2022, coupled with the increased prices with respect to the inflation adjustments in the power purchase agreement's ("PPA") for the Peruvian facilities, partly offset by the decrease in revenue from San Jacinto.
• Net earnings attributable to owners was $2.5 million or $0.12 per share - basic for the year ended December 31, 2022, compared to net earnings of $0.5 million or $0.03 per share - basic in 2021.
• Adjusted EBITDA⁽¹⁾ was $44.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, compared to Adjusted EBITDA of $43.8 million in the same period in 2021, principally as a result of revenue increases, as described above.
• For year ended December 31, 2022, the Company generated $33.5 million in net cash flow from operating activities, ending with a cash position of $40.0 million, including restricted cash.
• Construction, testing and initial operation of a 10.0 MW (net) geothermal binary power plant was completed on December 30, 2022, with full capacity achieved on December 31, 2022. The total investment incurred by the Company was $25.6 million, which was in line with original expectations.
• The Company continues to progress the construction of the newly named Vista Hermosa Solar Park, the solar projects located in Panama. During the year ended December 31, 2022 the Company spent $9.1 million. Construction is expected to be completed by March 2023.
• The Company remains focused on maintaining a quarterly dividend. For the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company declared and paid $12.1 million in dividends. The Company has declared and will pay a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per outstanding common share on February 24, 2023.
• The Company continued to advance its environmental, social and governance ("ESG") initiatives as part of its core strategy while continuing to maintain an excellent health and safety record. Readers are encouraged to refer to the Company's annual sustainability report, which is available on the Company's website for additional details.

OPERATING AND FINANCIAL OVERVIEW

1. Net of transaction costs.

During the three months ended December 31, 2022 quarterly consolidated power production was higher than the same period in 2021, as a net result of additional production from the Dominican Republic and Ecuador facilities acquired in the year, partly offset by lower production in Peru.

For Nicaragua, in the fourth quarter of 2022 production was similar to production in the comparable period of 2021. It is management's view that this is a result of implementation of a limited in-field injection strategy which had the effect of improving stability in several of the high enthalpy wells, namely 9-3 and 6-2. In addition, the remainder of the field showed a high level of stability.

Consolidated production in Peru for the three months ended December 31, 2022 was lower than the comparative period in 2021 due to lower water availability at both El Carmen and 8 de Agosto facilities. It is management's understanding that the start of the rainy season, which is typically in October or November, was delayed in most regions of Peru in 2022. These decreases were partly offset by the increase in production at Canchayllo.

For Dominican Republic, the Canoa 1 facility, acquired on June 28, 2022, produced 14,139 MWh in the three months ended December 31, 2022. This is in line with the third quarter of 2022, historical results and our expectations.

For Ecuador, in the fourth quarter of 2022, the average production of 6,969 MWh represents the first full quarter of production contributed by HSJM. Overall, and similar to Peru, production in Ecuador is driven by the dry and wet season, with the rainy season generally starting in November and running until May/June. However, like in Peru, the rainy season started later in Ecuador than normal which resulted in lower results than expected. Our expectations were in the range of 8,000-9,000 MWh for the quarter.

"The past year was a very important year for the Company having completed three acquisitions and having completed the Binary unit in December to finish off the year. We expect the results of these efforts to be fully reflected in our operational results for 2023. In addition, the platform we have built can now take advantage of the opportunities to grow in the region through our own developments as well as through opportunistic acquisitions." noted Marc Murnaghan, Chief Executive Officer of Polaris Renewable Energy.

About Polaris Renewable Energy Inc.

Polaris Renewable Energy Inc. (formerly, Polaris Infrastructure Inc.) is a Canadian publicly traded company engaged in the acquisition, development, and operation of renewable energy projects in the Americas. We are a high-performing and financially sound contributor in the energy transition.

The Company's operations are in 5 Latin American countries and include a geothermal plant (~72 MW), 4 run-of-river hydroelectric plants (39 MW), 1 solar (photovoltaic) project in operation (25 MW) and 2 solar projects with an expected total capacity of approximately 10 MW, currently under construction.

For more information, contact :

Investor Relations
Polaris Renewable Energy Inc.
Phone: +1 647-245-7199
Email: info@PolarisREI.com

SOURCE: Polaris Renewable Energy Inc.