Active Energy Group Plc
("Active Energy Group" or the "Group" or the "Company" or "AEG")
New debt facilities and preliminary results timing
On 10 April 2014, Active Energy Group Plc (AIM:AEG), the fast-growing pan-European supplier of wood chip for the Biomass for Energy ('BFE') and MDF manufacturing industries, which is developing a unique high-energy Biomass fuel granule and granule manufacturing solution, announced inter alia that it had secured a US$2 million facility with its largest shareholder, Gravendonck Foundation, which holds approximately 27.4% of AEG's issued share capital (approximately 30.5% excluding shares held in treasury).
The Board now announces that on Thursday 12th June 2014, AEG secured an additional 365 day US$1 million facility from Gravendonck Foundation, also at an interest rate of 15% pa. This facility is intended to be used to finance the acquisition of a new wood cutting machine and a new rotor for the existing wood cutting machine at Yuzhny Port in Odessa, Ukraine, which AEG uses for its shipments of woodchip to MDF manufacturers in Turkey.
The Directors, having consulted with the Company's nominated adviser, consider the terms of this new Gravendonck facility to be fair and reasonable insofar as the Group's shareholders are concerned.
The Board also announces that AEG contemporaneously has entered into a facility agreement whereby an unrelated Ukrainian company, Industrial-Financial Company "Ruteks" Limited ("Ruteks"), will provide the Group up to 20 million Ukrainian Hryvnias (UAH), approximately US$1.7 million, which is repayable by 31 December 2014. This sum, which is provided under a Ukrainian Fiscal Incentive Programme, is intended to be used initially to finance the acquisition of additional volumes of timber which AEG would intend to convert to wood chip and ship to MDF manufacturers in Turkey. Under the terms of this agreement, Ruteks is entitled to a participation fee of US$5 per tonne on all shipments financed under this agreement. The Company has drawn down UAH10m of this facility.
Finally, the Board anticipates that AEG will issue its preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2013 in the second half of June.
Richard Spinks, Active Energy Group CEO, commented: "We are continuing to trade well and are seeing opportunities for further business in Ukraine, notwithstanding the political pressures in the country. These new facilities will significantly increase the financial and operating capacity of AEG's operations in the country and enable us to take advantage of various highly attractive opportunities being presented to us in Western Ukraine".
Enquiries:
Active Energy Group plc
Richard Spinks, Chief Executive Officer Tel: +380 503 942 702
WH Ireland (Nominated Adviser and Broker)
Chris Fielding Tel: +44 20 7220 1666
Novella Communications
Tim Robertson / Ben Heath Tel: +44 20 3151 7008
About Active Energy Group:
· Company website: www.active-energy.com
· Active Energy Group Plc, a London Stock Exchange-listed company (AIM: AEG), is a pan-European supplier of wood chip, high-energy fuel granules and granule manufacturing systems for the Biomass for Energy ('BFE') and MDF manufacturing industries.
· The Group, headquartered in London, currently operates from four locations across Europe:
o Ukraine, where it is the largest producer and exporter of MDF-quality wood chip
o Spain and Montenegro, from where it supplies BFE Biomass wood chip to power plants in Italy
o Northern Ireland, where it operates an R&D facility for its new Biomass fuel granulating systems
· The Group is led by a highly experienced and dedicated management team with a proven track record of working in the industries and regions from which its revenues are generated.
· In June 2013, AEG acquired its major trading partner and raised in excess of £3 million to facilitate future growth and expansion of its international production and shipping facilities.
· In May 2014, the Group announced the formation of a new subsidiary, AEG Pelleting Limited, to commercialise and market a revolutionary new Biomass for Energy ('BFE') fuel granulating system that converts sawdust and other industrial and agricultural co-products into valuable fuel granules for use in large-scale power plants and micro-CHP boilers.
· European Biomass for Energy ('BFE') Market:
o Biomass-fuelled power is expected to account for over 50% of European renewable energy, according to an EU directive on National Renewable Energy Action Plans.
o EU directives and continued commissioning of new Biomass and CHP power plants in Europe continue to generate additional demand for Biomass fuel, with little visibility on where that fuel will be sourced.
o The European Renewable Energy Council (EREC) estimates that Biomass-based energy production will grow from 43TWh (Terawatt Hours) in 2005 to 250TWh in 2020.
o Key NGO bodies such as the European Biomass Association and Eurelectric (the European Union of the Electricity Industry) advocate establishing harmonised, binding sustainability criteria for solid Biomass fuel.
