Amsterdam, 4 June 2013
The shares of Dutch solar energy solutions provider PhotonEnergy N.V. debuted today on the NewConnect market of the WarsawStock Exchange. With the debut Photon Energy returned to the marketafter growing from a start-up to a globally active group spanningthree continents in just five years. Photon Energy N.V. is thefirst Dutch company to be listed on NewConnect.
Photon Energy N.V., a Dutch solar power solutions group,successfully debuted on the NewConnect market of the Warsaw StockExchange on 4 June 2013. With this step the company concluded arestructuring process which saw the company grow from a Czech solarpower plant operator to a global photovoltaic solutions providerheadquartered in Amsterdam. Photon Energy Group now spans threecontinents with a track record of 50 MWp of installed capacity, ofwhich the company holds 25 MWp in its own portfolio. Photon EnergyOperations, the group’s Operations & Maintenance (O&M)division, now services over 60 MWp of power plants in sixcountries.
“We have come a long way from building our first power plantin the Czech Republic in 2009 to having commissioned our firstrooftop installation in Australia this year,” saysPhoton Energy N.V. CEO Georg Hotar.
Clear focus and strategy in a fast-changingindustry
In the light of a fast-changing solar industry Photon Energyintends to focus on those activities in the downstream segmentproviding multiple uncorrelated recurring revenue streams. “Weintend to grow our Operations & Maintenance business both inestablished photovoltaic markets with large installed generationcapacity while leveraging our experience and capabilities inO&M to develop standardised financing solutions and energymanagement services”, explained CEO GeorgHotar.
“For the development and construction of new power plants wefocus outside the traditional PV markets in the EU. Besides thepromising Australian market, where we have been present since 2011,we are preparing our entry into the equally attractive Turkishmarket”, says Georg Hotar. Solar energy inTurkey has in many regions reached grid-parity, meaning that solarenergy can be produced at prices competitive with purchasingelectricity from the grid. Dynamic economic growth, a strongdependence on imported fossil fuels and - after reaching aninvestment grade rating earlier this year – declining interestrates, provide an ideal setting for solar energy in Turkey. “Weare equally working on investment opportunities in Ontario whilepreparing a project development strategy for Japan. This geographicspread provides us with much-needed diversification betweendeveloped and emerging markets on the one hand and betweenfeed-in-tariff-based and grid-parity markets on the other”,adds Georg Hotar.
NewConnect as an efficient listingplatform
With its listing on NewConnect, Photon Energy has come full circleto where the company started. In October 2008, Photon Energy (thena Czech entity) listed its shares on NewConnect as the firstforeign issuer while still a pre-revenue business. In 2010 thecompany generated consolidated revenues of nearly EUR 100 million.With the introduction of retroactive measures in the Czech Republicand regulatory discontinuity in European core markets such as Italyand Germany Photon Energy started focusing on new markets andrestructuring into its current corporate form of aNetherlands-based holding company.
“While navigating uncertainty and volatility we remainedfocused on returning to the capital market as soon as possible,however, only after bringing on board the minority shareholders inthe Czech predecessor. As promised, we enabled our originalinvestors to swap their shares on a 1:1 basis in order to fullyparticipate in our future growth. We have demonstrated that ourshareholders are truly important to us and we are genuinely excitedto fully benefit from our NewConnect listing now and the broadopportunities of the Warsaw Stock Exchange in the medium and longterm”, concludes CEO Georg Hotar.
To watch aninterview with CEO Georg Hotar and CFO Clemens Wohlmuth clickhere.
Photon Energy N.V.
Ticker: PEN
Nominal value 0.01 EUR
Reference price for the first trading session: PLN 1.08 (EUR0.26)
The current share price can be viewed at http://bit.ly/ZqjzlR
Amount of shares: 23,000,000
First day of listing: 4 June 2013
Further information is available in the „Information Document“dated 29 May 2013, which can be downloaded fromwww.photonenergy.com
The securities referred to herein have not been and will notbe registered under the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the"Securities Act"), and may not be offered or sold in theUnited States or to US persons unless the securities are registeredunder the Securities Act, or an exemption from the registrationrequirements of the Securities Act is available. No public offeringof the securities will be made in the United States.