The company this week announced it was considering the listing of a medium-term note programme ‘green bond’ to support the equity financing of the Anirep pipeline.
“Management is currently finalising the process and will approach the markets in due course with details of tranches, and the transaction will also be communicated once finalised.” the announcement reads.
Currently only RMB, Bank Windhoek and Standard Bank Namibia have issued green bonds – utilising the capital to fund renewable energy projects such as those undertaken by Anirep.
Cheap capital could, however, be achieved if Anirep goes to the market directly. And it appears this is what the company is trying to do.
In addition to the green bond, the company also announced it aims to raise N$570 million to cement itself in renewable energy generation. Incorporated only in 2018, the company has grown exponentially, and has ambitiously wanted to control 30% of the renewable energy space by 2025.
In 2020, the company had no energy generation capacity.
It said as part of its ongoing growth strategy execution, which commenced in 2019 upon listing on the Namibian Stock Exchange development board, the company has since achieved a 139% growth in revenue, with a healthy pipeline of more than 200MW.
The 30% ambition will have it generating 760MW – but this comes at a serious capital requirement.
“To maintain sustainable growth levels, Anirep is proposing an equity capital raise by way of a rights offer to qualified shareholders,” the announcement reads.
If the N$570 million is successfully raised, the company said it would allow it to de-gear and substantially restructure its balance sheet, facilitating a more appropriate capital structure, and allowing management greater financial and operational flexibility to implement Anirep’s developmental goal and to seize potential growth opportunities.
“The proceeds of the rights offer will be used to underpin Anirep’s debt to sustainable levels as it embarks on bringing new projects online with the objective of achieving financial stability and creating sufficient capacity for management to focus on driving forward operational performance within the group.”
It is not clear how much the right offer price would be, but the company says this will be determined nearer to the date of the launch of the rights offer in line with market practice.
Shareholders must also still give the final nod and adopt the proposed way of raising capital.
A circular setting out further details on the rights issue and incorporating a notice of a general meeting will be distributed to Anirep’s shareholders in due course, the company says.
In May this year, the Development Bank of Namibia (DBN) signed an agreement to provide N$193 million to finance a new solar power generation plant near the Kahn substation in the Namib Desert.
This plant, owned by Anirep Aussenkehr Solar One, a start-up energy company, will feed 20MW into NamPower’s Kahn substation, from where it will be distributed to households and industrial consumers.
The start-up company was the recipient of a 25-year tender to produce power for NamPower, and is jointly owned by two local partner companies, Anirep Solar, and Aussenkehr Energy Investments.
For the 2022 financial year, the company posted revenue of N$166 million, netting a clean after-tax profit of N$8,5 million.
Only two years into operation, the company says its long-term goal is to provide investors with good, predictable, and long-term yielding investments generating a consistent return on equity.
During the year, the company also acquired 75% shares in Neogreen Hydrogen Energy (Namibia) Proprietary Limited, which is a JV with Neogreen Hydrogen Corp, which was constituted to pursue green hydrogen opportunities in Namibia and elsewhere.
The company’s balance sheet for the 2022 financial year stood at N$397 million, with goodwill as its second biggest asset at N$138 million.
Anirep is owned by Alternative Electricity Consultants (Pty) Ltd, Standard Bank Namibia Nominees (Pty) Ltd, Government Employees Pension Fund, Fnb Nominees (Namibia) (Pty) Ltd and Government Institutions Pension Fund, among, other public shareholders.
The company’s shares were trading at N$9 yesterday.
Email: lazarus@namibian.com.na
Twitter: @Lasarus_A
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