Brookfield Renewable Announces Second Quarter Results

BROOKFIELD, NEWS--(Marketwired - Aug. 4, 2016) -

All amounts in US dollars unless otherwise indicated

Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. (TSX:BEP.UN)(NYSE:BEP) ("Brookfield Renewable") today reported financial results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2016.

"Our global scale and unique focus on hydro, combined with our operating, development and investment expertise, positions us well to benefit from the long term growth in the renewable power generation sector, all with the objective of delivering 12%-15% total returns on a per-share basis," said Sachin Shah, CEO of Brookfield Renewable.

Recent Highlights

Review of Operations

Generation for the three months ended June 30, 2016 totaled 8,792 GWh, below the long-term average of 10,951 GWh and an increase of 2,392 GWh compared to the prior year. The contribution from growth in the portfolio was partly offset by lower generation across the portfolio.

The hydroelectric portfolio generated 7,807 GWh, below the long-term average of 9,763 GWh and an increase of 2,706 GWh compared to the prior year. In North America, above-average inflows in Quebec were offset by below-average inflows across the remainder of the portfolio due to the early spring melt which contributed to strong generation in the first quarter of 2016. Generation from existing facilities in Brazil continued to improve from prior drought conditions and was higher than the prior year by 126 GWh. The contribution from growth in the portfolio was 3,143 GWh.

The wind portfolio generated 916 GWh, below the long-term average of 1,092 GWh and a decrease of 188 GWh compared to the same period of the prior year. Generation from our European and Brazilian portfolios was lower due to weaker wind conditions. Generation from the prior year includes 88 GWh related to our 102 megawatt wind facility in California which was sold in the third quarter of 2015.

Revenues in the second quarter totaled $627 million, representing an increase of $169 million over the same period of the prior year. Growth in our portfolio contributed $218 million. Relatively lower power prices in the northeastern United States and Brazil were partially offset by increased capacity pricing and ancillary revenues for a net impact to revenues of $13 million. Lower generation impacted revenues by $10 million. The appreciation of the U.S. dollar, compared to the same period of the prior year, resulted in a $17 million reduction in revenues.

Adjusted EBITDA for the second quarter was $377 million and FFO was $105 million, compared to $339 million and $146 million, respectively, for the same period in the prior year. For the first six months of 2016, Adjusted EBITDA was $832 million and FFO was $292 million, compared to $677 million and $299 million, respectively, for the same period in the prior year.

Distribution Declaration

The next quarterly distribution in the amount of $0.445 per LP Unit, is payable on September 30, 2016 to unitholders of record as at the close of business on August 31, 2016. Brookfield Renewable targets a sustainable distribution with increases targeted on average at 5% to 9% annually.

The regular quarterly dividends on Brookfield Renewable's preferred shares and preferred LP units have also been declared.

Distribution Currency Option

The quarterly distributions payable on LP Units of Brookfield Renewable Partners are declared in U.S. dollars. Registered and beneficial shareholders who are resident in Canada or the United States may opt to receive their distributions in either U.S. dollars or the Canadian dollar equivalent. Unless they request the Canadian dollar equivalent, shareholders will continue to receive distributions in U.S. dollars (which may be converted for them by the broker or other intermediary, as may currently be the case). The Canadian dollar equivalent of the quarterly distribution will be based on the Bank of Canada noon exchange rate on the record date or, if the record date falls on a weekend or holiday, on the Bank of Canada noon exchange rate of the preceding business day.

Registered shareholders wishing to receive the Canadian dollar distribution equivalent should contact Brookfield Renewable's transfer agent, Computershare Trust Company of Canada, in writing at 100 University Avenue, 8th Floor, Toronto, Ontario M5J 2Y1 or by phone at 1-800-564-6253. Beneficial unitholders (i.e., those holding their LP Units in street name with their brokerage) should contact the broker with whom their units are held.

Distribution Reinvestment Plan
Brookfield Renewable maintains a Distribution Reinvestment Plan ("DRIP") which allows holders of its LP Units who are resident in Canada to acquire additional LP Units by reinvesting all or a portion of their cash distributions without paying commissions. Information on the DRIP, including details on how to enroll, is available on Brookfield Renewable's website at www.brookfieldrenewable.com/DRIP.

Additional information on Brookfield Renewable's distributions and preferred share dividends can be found on its website at www.brookfieldrenewable.com under Investor Relations.

Brookfield Renewable Partners

Brookfield Renewable Partners operates one of the world's largest publicly traded, pure-play renewable power platforms. Our portfolio consists of hydroelectric and wind facilities in North America, Latin America and Europe and totals more than 10,000 megawatts of installed capacity. Brookfield Renewable is listed on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges. Further information is available at www.brookfieldrenewable.com. Important information may be disseminated exclusively via the website; investors should consult the site to access this information.

Brookfield Renewable is the flagship listed renewable power company of Brookfield Asset Management, a leading global alternative asset manager with $240 billion of assets under management.

Please note that Brookfield Renewable's previous audited annual and unaudited quarterly reports have been filed on SEDAR and can also be found in the investors section of its website at www.brookfieldrenewable.com. Hard copies of the annual and quarterly reports can be obtained free of charge upon request.

Quarterly Earnings Call Details

Investors, analysts and other interested parties can access Brookfield Renewable's 2016 First Quarter Results as well as the Letter to Shareholders and Supplemental Information on Brookfield Renewable's website under the Investor Relations section at www.brookfieldrenewable.com.

The conference call can be accessed via webcast on August 4, 2016 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time at www.brookfieldrenewable.com or via teleconference at 1-800-319-4610 toll free in North America. For overseas calls please dial 1-604-638-5340, at approximately 8:50 a.m. Eastern Time. A recording of the teleconference can be accessed through September 4, 2016 at 1-855-669-9658 (Password 00530#).

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements and information within the meaning of Canadian provincial securities laws and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, "safe harbor" provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and in any applicable Canadian securities regulations. The words "will", "should", "could", "potential", "tend to", "target" "future", "growth", "expect", "believe", "goal", "plan", derivatives thereof and other expressions which are predictions of or indicate future events, trends or prospects and which do not relate to historical matters identify the above mentioned and other forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this news release include statements regarding the quality of Brookfield Renewable's business, the expectation for future cash flows and distribution growth, the availability of acquisition opportunities, liquidity, and the timing and completion of acquisitions and development projects. Although Brookfield Renewable believes that these forward-looking statements and information are based upon reasonable assumptions and expectations, you should not place undue reliance on them, or any other forward looking statements or information in this news release. The future performance and prospects of Brookfield Renewable are subject to a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause actual results of Brookfield Renewable to differ materially from those contemplated or implied by the statements in this news release include economic conditions in the jurisdictions in which we operate; our ability to sell products and services under contract or into merchant energy markets; weather conditions and other factors which may impact generation levels at our facilities; changes to government regulations, including incentives for renewable energy; our ability to grow within our current markets or expand into new markets; our ability to complete development and capital projects on time and on budget; our inability to finance our operations or fund future acquisitions due to the status of the capital markets; the ability to effectively source, complete and integrate new acquisitions and to realize the benefits of such acquisitions; health, safety, security or environmental incidents; regulatory risks relating to the power markets in which we operate, including relating to the regulation of our assets, licensing and litigation; risks relating to our internal control environment; we do not have control over all of our operations; contract counterparties not fulfilling their obligations; and other risks associated with the construction, development and operation of power generating facilities. 

We caution that the foregoing list of important factors that may affect future results is not exhaustive. The forward-looking statements represent our views as of the date of this news release and should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any date subsequent to the date of this news release. While we anticipate that subsequent events and developments may cause our views to change, we disclaim any obligation to update the forward-looking statements, other than as required by applicable law. For further information on these known and unknown risks, please see "Risk Factors" included in our Form 20-F.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Use of Non-IFRS Measures

This news release contains references to Adjusted EBITDA, Funds From Operations, Adjusted Funds From Operations, Funds From Operations per LP Unit, Normalized Funds From Operations, and Normalized Funds From Operations per LP Unit, which are not generally accepted accounting measures under IFRS and therefore may differ from definitions of Adjusted EBITDA, Funds From Operations, Adjusted Funds From Operations, Funds From Operations per LP Unit, Normalized Funds From Operations and Normalized Funds From Operations per LP Unit used by other entities. We believe that these are useful supplemental measures that may assist investors in assessing the financial performance and the cash anticipated to be generated by our operating portfolio. We have included Normalized FFO and Normalized FFO per unit because we believe that assuming long term average and applying consistent currency rates allows investors to better assess year over year variances in the financial performance of the business. Neither Adjusted EBITDA, Funds From Operations, Funds From Operations per LP Unit, Adjusted Funds from Operations, Normalized Funds From Operations nor Normalized Funds From Operations per LP Unit should be considered as the sole measure of our performance and should not be considered in isolation from, or as a substitute for, analysis of our financial statements prepared in accordance with IFRS.  

References to Brookfield Renewable are to Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. together with its subsidiary and operating entities unless the context reflects otherwise. 

FINANCIAL REVIEW FOR THE THREE AND SIX MONTHS ENDED JUNE 30, 2016

The following table reflects Adjusted EBITDA, Funds From Operations and Adjusted Funds From Operations for the three and six months ended June 30:

GENERATION AND FINANCIAL REVIEW ON A PROPORTIONATE BASIS BY SEGMENTS FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED JUNE 30, 2016

The following table reflects the actual and long-term average generation for the three months ended June 30 on a proportionate basis:

The following table reflects Adjusted EBITDA and Funds From Operations on a proportionate and consolidated basis for the three months ended June 30:

GENERATION AND FINANCIAL REVIEW ON A PROPORTIONATE BASIS BY SEGMENTS FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED JUNE 30, 2016

The following table reflects the actual and long-term average generation for the six months ended June 30 on a proportionate basis:

The following table reflects Adjusted EBITDA and Funds From Operations on a proportionate and consolidated basis for the six months ended June 30, 2016: