LONDON (Alliance News) - Good Energy Group PLC Monday said that its half-year results will be affected by further business investment it made in the first six months of 2014, but expects its full-year to be in line with expectations, dependant on a number of conditions.
In a trading update for the six months ended June 30, the AIM-quoted renewable electricity supplier said it expects its full-year performance to be in line with its expectations as long as it makes a certain level of profit through the sale of West Raynham, sees continued customer growth and no further reduction in energy usage after demand for energy was hit by the mild winter in the first-half.
Last week the group said that terms have been agreed to sell its megawatt solar farm in West Raynham, Norfolk, to a member of the Trina Solar Group for between GBP3.4 million and GBP6.8 million in cash. Net profit on the sale will be between GBP1.4 million and GBP3.8 million, depending on when the site is completed and commissioned.
Good Energy said it is confident that it will continue to see "strong customer growth and further development of new generation capacity," which will support its progress towards its strategic goals.
The group reported 132,000 customers in the first-half, an increase on the 97,000 reported for the corresponding period last year. The increase was driven by an 82% increase in gas customers to 20,000, followed up by a 35% increase in electricity customers to 46,000, and a 27% increase to 66,000 feed-in-tariff sites customers.
"Our strong customer growth so far this year demonstrates that our offer of competitive pricing, 100% renewable electricity and award-winning customer service is compelling to an increasing number of consumers and businesses. Alongside managing our cost base appropriately, the significant increase in customer numbers is expected to drive future momentum," Chief Executive Juliet Davenport said in a statement.
"We have made huge strides in developing our generating capacity and now have contracts in place with 800 independent generator supply sites. Our continued investment towards our owned generation of 200MW target is indicative of our commitment to deliver a cleaner, greener and more secure energy source for the UK, the importance of which is highlighted by continued political uncertainty in Eastern Europe," Davenport added.
Good Energy shares were Monday quoted down 2.1% at 233.55 pence.
By Samuel Agini; samagini@alliancenews.com; @samuelagini
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Good Enrg (GOOD)