BarcelonaHolaloz lost 26 million euros last year and has debts of about 60 million. The situation is difficult, but the company has a plan to overcome the shortage, and the accounts for the first quarter of 2024 already show improvement. This was explained by the company’s president, Carlotta Pai, in a financial presentation to the small and medium-cap stock market BME Growth, on Thursday.
The presented plan contains two keys: on the one hand, obtaining new investors. On the other hand, gaining efficiency makes a source of strong market decline. Regarding the first point, the situation remains as it was: there are two alternatives. Holaluz received a loan of 10 million euros from the Catalan Financial Institute (ICF) and another 3 million from the public company Generalitat Avança. But for additional resources, entry will be granted in one case to Family offices In the second alternative, the entry of an industrial investor into the sector is sought. However, in its stock market presentation, Carlota Pi did not clarify in what period this refinancing could be closed.
In terms of efficiency, in the case of solar installations, the plan includes the sale of larger and therefore more profitable self-consumption systems (in the first quarter of this year it became 10% larger and during 2023 it grew by 14%) and an improvement in the battery business, where the monthly penetration rate grows By 15%.
This efficiency has allowed the company to reduce… Tie (Break-even point) from 600 establishments in the fourth quarter of 2023 to 350 establishments in the first quarter of 2024. With measures taken, it is expected to reduce the break-even point to 300 establishments per month by the end of 2024. Achieving this is considered the break-even point important due to the contraction in this business. : The company performed 996 installations in the first quarter of 2023, 467 in the fourth quarter of last year and 362 in the first quarter of this year, representing a 22% quarter-on-quarter decrease, a 64% year-on-year decrease.
Despite everything, the company sees business in it. “The structural growth opportunity remains intact: the Spanish residential solar market remains largely untapped, with penetration below 5%, compared to other European countries where it exceeds 25%,” the presentation says.
Another problem the company faces is low electricity prices. Its average price has risen from 99 euros per megawatt hour in 2023 to 45 euros in the first quarter of this year. This also affected the significant decline in support as Next Generation Funds expired. That’s why the focus is on “sales that generate the most value, both for the customer and for the company.” Pass customers to the product Fair rate It has made it possible to improve the numbers because of the operational efficiency gains it brings: simpler billing reduces contact with customer service, there are fewer defaults and the billing process is simplified.
It improves in the first three months
Holaluz has shown improvement in the first quarter of this year. It ended March with net debt of €58.8 million, while in December 2023 it was €64.4 million. This progress is also seen in net operating profit before taxes and depreciation. According to the company, EBITDA for the first quarter was 3.1 million euros, higher than the same quarter last year, and in the last twelve months, up to the end of the first quarter of this year, EBITDA was -0.2 million euros, Compared to -22.8 million euros in 2023 performance “The company’s performance last year is very good, and this puts us in a positive scenario,” said Pei.
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