Macquarie Power & Infrastructure Income Fund Announces Solid Annual Results
- Achieved payout ratio of 88%
- Portfolio performing in line with expectations
- Significant capacity for continuing growth
TORONTO, ONTARIO (February 19, 2008) – Macquarie Power & Infrastructure Income Fund
(TSX: MPT.UN; MPT. DB – “MPT” or the “Fund”), which invests in essential infrastructure
assets in North America, today reported unaudited results for the year and fourth quarter
ended December 31, 2007. Unaudited fourth quarter financial information is available on the
Fund’s website at www.macquarie.com/mpt or on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
“Fiscal 2007 was a significant year for the Fund during which we advanced our mandate to
build a strong, diversified portfolio of essential infrastructure assets that generates reliable
cash flow throughout the economic cycle,” said Mr. Gregory Smith, President and Chief
Executive Officer of the Fund. “We continued to deliver stable and growing distributions to
unitholders, reflecting increased power production and higher power rates as well as
predictable results from Leisureworld.”
Fiscal 2007 Performance
Revenue for the year was $122.8 million compared with $90.0 million in 2006. The increase
reflects six months of contribution from the Fund’s new wind, hydro and biomass power
assets, which the Fund acquired as part of the successful takeover of Clean Power Income
Fund (“CPIF”), higher power prices attributable to the continuing impact of electricity rate
increases under the Cardinal facility’s (“Cardinal”) Power Purchase Agreement (“PPA”), and
increased production at Cardinal.
Income from operations1 for the Fund was $23.3 million for the year compared with $10.6
million for 2006, reflecting the higher revenue as well as continuing strong performance from
Cardinal. These factors were partially offset by a $10.2 million increase in operating costs,
which was due to the addition of new assets to the portfolio as well as increased fuel usage
and higher gas transportation costs at Cardinal. The increase in revenue was also offset by a
$2.6-million increase in administrative expenses, which included higher management fees
related to the newly acquired assets, the reimbursement of costs related to the CPIF
acquisition as well as ongoing business development activities, and an increase in incentive
fees arising from the Fund’s strong performance.
The Fund’s distributable cash2 was $48.8 million ($1.210 per unit) compared with $34.1 million
($1.133 per unit) in 2006. Declared distributions to unitholders for the year were $42.9 million
($1.030 per unit) compared with $30.4 million ($1.012 per unit) in 2006, representing a payout
ratio of 88% (2006 – 89%). The lower payout ratio reflects the strong cash flow generated by
the newly acquired assets, including a $5.4-million gain on the debtor repayment of the Fund’s
U.S. wind loan offset by higher distributions declared. The increase in distributions declared
was due to a greater number of units outstanding during the second half of the year as a result
of the issuance of additional units in connection with the unit exchange takeover of CPIF on
June 27, 2007. Distributions to unitholders are paid from cash flows from operations and
unrestricted cash balances.
As at December 31, 2007, the Fund had working capital of $31.2 million, cash on hand of
$21.9 million, of which $3.3 million was uncommitted, and fully funded general, major
maintenance and capital expenditure reserve accounts in the aggregate amount of $18.6
million. The Fund is conservatively leveraged, with a debt to capitalization ratio of 38.8%.
The Fund’s audited fiscal 2007 annual report will be sent to unitholders in mid-March and will
be available on the Fund’s website at www.macquarie.com/mpt and on SEDAR at
www.sedar.com.
Operational Highlights
Total power production for the year was 1,687,059 MWh compared with 1,227,214 MWh last
year.
Cardinal performed in line with expectations, producing 1,291,876 MWh of electricity (2006 – 1,227,214 MWh), which reflected fewer outages in 2007 compared with 2006 when the plant
completed its major maintenance. As a result, Cardinal achieved availability of 98.2% (2006 – 94.0%) and capacity of 96.7% (2006 – 91.6%).
Production at the Erie Shores Wind Farm (“Erie Shores”) for the year totalled 243,423 MWh
(2006 – 120,889 MWH), reflecting a full year of operations in 2007 compared with only seven
months of operations in 2006. The plant achieved an overall availability of 95.1% (2006 – 90.4%) and a capacity factor of 28.1% (2006 – 14.4%).
The Fund’s hydro power facilities increased production during the year to 174,300 MWh (2006
– 138,889 MWh), reflecting increased water flows at all facilities. The hydro power facilities
had a weighted average availability of 98.2% (2006 – 98.4%) for the year and a capacity factor
of 55.7% (2006 – 44.3%). The slightly lower availability was due to outages at the Dryden
plant required by Hydro One to complete line maintenance.
The Whitecourt biomass plant (“Whitecourt”) performed well but experienced lower availability
of 93.4% (2006 – 97.3%) and a capacity factor of 93.1% (2006 – 97.0%) due to outages
required for repair work. Total production at Whitecourt was 192,080 MWh (2006 – 203,682
MWh). The Chapais facility (“Chapais”), in which the Fund holds a 31.3% interest in one of two
classes of preferred shares as well as a debt interest, experienced slightly higher availability of
94.8% (2006 – 91.8%) due to reduced outages. Production at Chapais for the year was
218,955 MWh (2006 – 219,961 MWh).
The Fund owns an indirect 45% interest in Leisureworld Senior Care LP (“Leisureworld”),
which is accounted for by the Fund as an equity investment. Leisureworld achieved a 5.6%
increase in revenue and 7.2% increase in income from operations, reflecting the impact of
improved occupancy and greater use of preferred accommodation across its portfolio as well
as increased government funding. Average total occupancy for the year was 98.4% (2006 –
95.3%). Average preferred occupancy was 83.2% (2006 – 79.0%).
Fiscal 2008 Outlook
“We anticipate continued stable performance in 2008, reflecting the quality and breadth of our
portfolio,” said Mr. Smith. “In addition, we continue to have substantial financial capacity for
growth, including a $75-million revolving credit facility earmarked for acquisitions that will
further diversify the Fund and enhance its cash flow profile. Our goal is to build a significant
portfolio of infrastructure assets that returns exceptional long-term value to unitholders.”
All of the Fund’s power assets are characterized by high availability, which reflects the quality
of plant operations and underlines the reliability of the Fund’s cash flow. In addition, the
diversity of these assets by fuel source and geography mitigates the impact of wind and
hydrological conditions on the Fund’s performance.
Additionally, routine major maintenance costs at each of the Fund’s power plants are fully
funded through the Fund’s major maintenance reserve account and have no impact on
distributable cash.
For 2008, the Fund expects continued increases in gas transportation costs for Cardinal will
more than offset the increase in the Direct Customer Rate (“DCR”), resulting in slightly lower
cash flow for the year. Cardinal is scheduled to complete a combustion inspection in the
second quarter of 2008, which typically requires a five-day outage.
Erie Shores is expected to deliver annual production of approximately 245,600 MWh, subject
to wind speed and density, which are typically greatest during the fall and winter months.
Warranted plant availability of 97% is guaranteed by GE, the turbine supplier, including direct
revenue reimbursement if that threshold is not met. Additionally, for the first four years of
operations, GE Canada provides fixed-cost operations and maintenance services, which
contributes to low and predictable operating costs. Erie Shores’ annual maintenance, which
typically requires approximately four to five days of outage, is targeted for a seasonally low
period of the year.
The hydro facilities are expected to generate long-term average production of 166,360 MWh
per year, which represents average actual historical production at each of the plants. The
hydro assets are located in the Arctic, Atlantic and Pacific watersheds, which mitigates the
impact of fluctuating water flows on revenue. Water flows are typically strongest during the fall
and spring months. Additionally, the PPAs at Wawatay and Dryden provide for higher
electricity rates during the months of October to March. Mechanical and electrical inspections
at the plants are typically scheduled for seasonally low periods.
Whitecourt is supported by a long-term fuel supply agreement that contributes to continuing
reliable operations as well as a low cost structure. Whitecourt operates on a seven-year
maintenance cycle and is scheduled to undergo major maintenance in May 2008, which is
expected to require an approximately 24-day outage.
At Leisureworld, a key focus will be integrating the seven long-term care homes acquired in
January 2008. This transaction is expected to contribute to the sustainability and predictability
of Leisureworld’s distributions to the Fund. Approval from the Ministry of Health and Long-
Term Care for Leisureworld’s acquisition of the Good Samaritan Seniors Complex is also
expected to be received by the end of 2008. During 2008, Leisureworld will continue efforts to
maximize occupancy across its homes and to increase the number of residents choosing
preferred accommodation, which contributes to Leisureworld’s operating profitability. As the
third-largest provider of long-term care in Ontario, Leisureworld is well positioned to capitalize
on complementary acquisition opportunities and to execute its strategy to deliver high quality
care and accommodation to the province’s seniors.
Distributions and Tax Information
For fiscal 2007, 70% of distributions paid to unitholders were non-taxable as return of capital.
The Fund’s tax information will be forwarded to the Canadian Depository for Securities (CDS)
and posted on the Fund’s website by February 29, 2008. Brokerage firms are responsible for
preparing the required tax slips (T5013) for mailing to unitholders by March 31, 2008.
For 2008, the Fund anticipates achieving an annual payout ratio of approximately 95% to
100%, providing unitholders with stability of distributions. Management expects the return of
capital portion of distributions to be approximately 60% for the 2008 fiscal year, based on
current operations and barring any significant external events.
1 Income from operations refers to income before net interest, foreign exchange losses, share of losses from long-term
investments, unrealized gains (losses) on swap contracts and on embedded derivatives in gas purchase contracts,
gain on debtor repayment of loan receivable and taxes.
2 Distributable cash is defined as cash flows from operating activities after removing changes in working capital and
reflecting the impacts of releases from maintenance reserves, allocations to major maintenance and capital
expenditure reserves, non-discretionary payments and receipts, gain on debtor repayment of loan receivable and
distributions from Leisureworld.
Conference Call and Webcast
Management of the Fund will hold a conference call (with accompanying slides) to discuss
year-end and fourth quarter results on Wednesday, February 20, 2008 at 8:30 a.m. ET. The
conference call will be accessible via webcast through the Fund’s website at
www.macquarie.com/mpt and by telephone at 416-641-6139 (Canada) or 1-866-542-4262
(North America). A replay of the call will be available until March 5, 2008 by dialling 416-695-
5800 or 1-800-408-3053 and entering the passcode 3248798.
Distribution Reinvestment Plan (DRIP)
Eligible unitholders may elect to participate in the Fund’s Distribution Reinvestment Plan. For
more information about the DRIP, please visit the Fund’s website at www.macquarie.com/mpt.
About the Fund
Macquarie Power & Infrastructure Income Fund invests in essential infrastructure assets in
North America with an emphasis on power infrastructure. MPT’s strategy is to acquire and
actively manage a diverse, high quality portfolio of infrastructure assets to improve their
financial performance and provide growing and sustainable distributions to unitholders. MPT’s
portfolio includes investments in gas cogeneration, wind, hydro and biomass power generating
facilities, totalling approximately 350 MW of installed capacity, and a 45% indirect interest in
Leisureworld Senior Care LP, a leading provider of long-term care, or social infrastructure, in
Ontario. MPT is managed by a wholly-owned subsidiary of Macquarie Group Limited. Please
visit www.macquarie.com/mpt for additional information.
Forward-looking Statements
Certain statements in this news release may constitute forward-looking statements, which involve known and unknown
risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results to be materially different from any future results
expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements use such words as “may”,
“will”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “expect”, “plan” and other similar terminology. These statements reflect current
expectations regarding future events and operating performance and speak only as of the date of this news release.
Forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties, should not be read as guarantees of future
performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of whether or not such results will be achieved.
A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking
statements, including, but not limited to: risks associated with the Fund’s gas cogeneration, wind, hydro and biomass
power generating assets and the power industry generally; risks associated with MPT’s interest in Leisureworld and
the long-term care sector; risks associated with the structure of MPT; and risks associated with business, regulatory
and economic conditions. The risks and uncertainties described above are not exhaustive and other events and risk
factors including risk factors disclosed in MPT’s filings with Canadian securities regulatory authorities could cause
actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements.
The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon information currently available and
what the Fund currently believes are reasonable assumptions. However, the Fund cannot assure investors that actual
results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the
date of this news release, and the Fund and Macquarie Power Management Limited (the Manager of the Fund)
assume no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. The Fund cautions readers not
to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
"Income from operations" and "distributable cash" do not have any standardized meaning under Canadian Generally
Accepted Accounting Principles. Management believes they are useful measures of performance as they provide
investors with indications of income from operations and the amount of cash available for distribution to unitholders.
The Fund's method of calculating "income from operations" and "distributable cash" may not be comparable to other
similarly named calculations.
For further information, please contact:
Harry Atterton
Vice President & Chief Financial Officer
Tel: (416) 607 5198
Email: harry.atterton@macquarie.com
Aaron Boles
Investor Relations
Tel: (416) 649 1325
Email: aboles@capstoneinfra.com