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ContourGlobal IPO offers income potential

The power generator will be one of the largest companies to list in London so far this year
November 13, 2017

UK income seekers may want to take a look at ContourGlobal (GLO), which was one of the largest companies to float on London’s main market so far this year when it made its debut on 9 November. The US-based power generator raised net proceeds of £281m via an institutional offering, giving it a market capitalisation of £1.68bn, or 250p a share. Part of this has been used to pay down debt, with the remainder retained to fund future growth. ContourGlobal’s parent has reduced its holding to 73 per cent in the process. The shares began unconditional trading on 14 November. 

Founded by chief executive Joseph Brandt 12 years ago, ContourGlobal owns and operates 69 power generation assets across 19 countries. During that time, it has grown by acquiring and developing assets in countries with insufficient generating capacity, including Brazil and parts of sub-Saharan Africa. It also entered the European market via a partnership with Coca-Cola Hellenic to operate co-generation facilities.    

As of December 2016, adjusted cash profits were split roughly 59 per cent to 41 per cent between thermal assets (plants that use conventional fuels) and renewable assets (plants that primarily use wind, solar and hydropower). However, the renewables business is growing at a much faster rate – it represented just 12 per cent of adjusted cash profits in 2014 – as management has ramped up investment in the renewable asset base.

This is unsurprising. The IEA, a Paris-based energy agency, pointed to 2016 as a watershed for renewables; a year in which 164 gigawatts of new renewable energy capacity came online globally. That represented triple the amount of new gas-fired power plants, and more than twice the volume of coal.

The group focuses exclusively on long-term wholesale contracted power generation. Roughly 95 per cent of forecast revenues from existing projects between 2017 and 2021 will come from feed-in tariffs, long-term contracts or other regulated service payments. Its contracts had an average remaining term of around 12 years at the end of June. Management said the structure of these power purchase agreements limits its exposure to fluctuating power prices and fuel costs, for example by writing in fuel cost pass-through mechanisms.   

Scaling up its portfolio of assets has delivered impressive revenue and cash profit growth. During the two years to the end of 2016, adjusted cash profits grew at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20 per cent. Meanwhile a strong cash conversion rate – as the cost of capital has come down – resulted in a CAGR in funds from operations of 26 per cent during the same period.  

That bodes well for Contour’s income potential. Management plans to pay shareholders an initial dividend of $17.5m (£13.2m) for the first six months of 2018, totalling between $70m and $80m for the full year. Based on the total number of shares in issue at the time of the IPO, that would give the shares a rough yield of between 3.2 and 3.6 per cent on the issue price. Management says it intends to grow the dividend annually at a minimum high single-digit percentage rate during the next five years.