The value-adjusted equity (NAV) in Aker Horizons was NOK 8.7 billion at the end of the first quarter, according to the quarterly report published on Tuesday morning.
At the end of the fourth quarter last year, the values were NOK 10.8 billion, while they were NOK 10.2 billion at the end of the third quarter. In the second quarter, the values were 11.1 billion, while they were 15.8 billion in the first quarter.
In other words, values have fallen by NOK 7.1 billion in one year.
The cash balance was NOK 3.3 billion at the end of the quarter, and together with a credit facility of EUR 500 million, this gives total liquid assets of NOK 8.9 billion. The company has NOK 2.5 billion in outstanding debt that falls due next year, and just under NOK 4 billion that expires in 2026.
Aker Horizons has crashed on the stock exchange this year with a price drop of 35 per cent, while the decline in the past year is almost 70 per cent. The company is now worth just under NOK 2 billion.
In comparison, Aker Horizons raised NOK 4.6 billion when Aker took the company on the stock exchange, and another billion in a private placement in November 2021. At its peak, the company was worth almost NOK 30 billion.
Carbon capture investment is slowing down
It is the development in listed Aker Carbon Capture that is driving down the values. In the fourth quarter report, the carbon capture investment was listed at NOK 3.5 billion, but now it has more than halved to NOK 1.5 billion after a 50 per cent price drop this year.
In March, Aker Carbon Capture and SLB (formerly Schlumberger) announced that the companies will merge their respective carbon capture businesses and form a joint venture company.
The agreement means that SLB will pay over NOK 4 billion for 80 percent of the shares in Aker Carbon Capture Holding (ACCH), where the operation is located. In addition, Aker Carbon Capture will retain NOK 400 million in cash.
No write-downs in Mainstream
As usual, there was tension beforehand as to whether Aker Horizons would make write-downs in the subsidiary Mainstream.
Delays have caused the company to fall into default with lenders and at the end of July last year, Aker Horizons announced to the stock exchange that Mainstream had begun a legal restructuring for the two subsidiaries Huemul and Condor in the South American country. The process was done to clean up the capital structure, renegotiate debt and inject new capital.
The values are kept at 7.7 billion so that the unlisted assets are valued at 10.4 billion – a stark contrast to the values the analysts who follow the company base on.
For example, the analysts at Clarksons believe that the Mainstream values are 60 per cent lower than the figures Aker Horizons operates with.
Mainstream had an operating result of minus 687 million last year, or 7.6 billion calculated at today’s dollar exchange rate. Aker Horizons states that Mainstream had to postpone interest payments in the first quarter of this year.
Tags: collapse Aker Horizons Finansavisen
-
